Australia's economy in the third quarter grew at the slowest annual pace since the pandemic, disappointing hopes for a rebound as government spending did all of the heavy lifting and consumers remained cautious.

Australia’s weaker-than-expected national accounts data for the September quarter have reinforced market expectations the Reserve Bank will be cutting interest rates in 2025.

Australia’s economic growth remained sluggish in the three months through September with gross domestic product increasing only 0.3% from the prior quarter, below analyst expectation of a 0.5% growth.