Question: Why does GDAL import of XYZ gridded data in QGIS modify the dimensions of a raster and can this be avoided?
I'm importing XYZ ASCII gridded data that conforms to GDAL XYZ Gridded Data Standard into QGIS v 2.18.7. The data set represented by the XYZ file has 30 X 30 dimensions where X,Y dimensions of each cell is 0.125 X 0.5 for a total dimension in cells of 240 X 60. X and Y coordinates start at 0.0625 and 0.25, so the outside edges of the cells should span from exactly 0 to 30.
Importing this data through Layer->Add Layer->Add RasterLayer, by drag and drop from the Browser Panel, directly from the OS file browser, or adding via the Georeferencer tool all perform the same task and seemingly import the data properly. However, instead of a 240 X 60 cell raster with 30 X 30 dimensions, these approaches produce a 175 X 175 cell raster with sides measuring 30.012325, and a square cell size of 0.171499.
If I take one of these slightly-off rasters and save it as a GTIFF, the properties within QGIS indicate it is the same, but holding a cursor over the file in an OS file browser window indicates it's 240 X 60, as it should be (see below).
Can someone explain what is going on here and how to avoid it?
Data Example Here
GDALInfo of original ASCII XYZ Grid File: Import_Test_Data.txt
QGIS Properties Metadata of ASCII XYZ Grid File: Import_Test_Data.txt