Australia’s economy slowed 0.5 per cent in the December quarter, compared with 0.7 per cent in the previous quarter, under forecasts of 0.8 per cent, as inflation and higher interest rate cooled demand, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed.
Annual gross domestic product (GDP) grew 2.7 per cent, in line with expectations.
Katherine Keenan, ABS head of national accounts, said final consumption and net trade were the major drivers of GDP growth.
The terms of trade rose 0.6 per cent, taking annual growth to 7.2 per cent.
Household saving ratio fell sharply to 4.5 per cent in the December quarter, from 7.1 per cent.