Australia’s Household Spending Misses Estimates as Services Drop

Australia’s household spending came in weaker than expected in June as consumers scaled back outlays on services.

Sales advanced 0.5% from May, when they climbed an upwardly revised 1%, and compared with a forecast 0.8% gain, Australian Bureau of Statistics figures showed on Tuesday. From a year earlier, spending climbed 4.8%, just shy of economists’ estimate of 4.9%.