‘Worrying’ growth slowdown may worsen as RBA, war bite
AUSTRALIA’s economic growth rate slowed to 0.3 per cent in the first three months of the year as the effects of interest rate rises and the Iran war started to be felt. Growth in gross domestic product was down from the rapid 0.9 per cent expansion recorded in the December quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday. The result was largely in line with economist forecasts. Annual GDP growth was 2.5 per cent, stable from December after a downward revision, but below the Reserve Bank’s May forecast of 2.6 per cent. “Economic growth slowed in t