Australia’s Household Spending Surprisingly Declines in December

Australia’s household spending growth unexpectedly declined in December following strong gains in the preceding two months, with the outlook for the new year clouded after the Reserve Bank raised interest rates to help restrain demand.

Consumption fell 0.4% from the prior month, missing economists’ predictions for a 0.1% gain and after a 1% increase in November, according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Monday. This resulted in an on-year rise of 5%.