Australian economic growth slowed sharply in the three months to September, driven by a deceleration in household spending. At 0.3%, the increase in real GDP was the weakest since the economy contracted in the September quarter of 2016, seeing growth over the year slow to just 2.8%. With the RBA forecasting that GDP growth will average 3.5% both this year and next, the result casts doubt over whether the next move in official interest rates is likely to be higher as the bank currently expects. Make no mistake, this was an underwhelming report card on the economy. Growth was only half the level of that expected by ... (full story)