SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australia’s economy grew by less than expected in the third quarter as a government splurge on defence and infrastructure only barely made up for softness in consumer and business spending.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed real gross domestic product rose 0.3% in the September quarter, missing market forecasts of 0.4%. Annual growth slowed to 0.8%, from 1.0% the previous quarter, levels previously only seen during recessions.
Household spending, which accounts for half of GDP, added nothing to growth in the quarter, leaving government spending to do all of the heavy lifting with a contribution of 0.6 percentage points to GDP.
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Himani Sarkar)
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