Australian economy grew 0.2% in first three months of the year, the slowest since Covid lockdowns

Jim Chalmers says higher interest rates and cost-of-living pressures are squeezing household budgets and slowing the economy

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Australia's economy slowed in the March quarter as households dipped into savings to keep spending amid a record run of interest rate rises and imports rose faster than exports.

The country's gross domestic product expanded at a quarterly rate of 0.2% in the first three months of the year, and by an annual rate of 2.3%. Economists had expected GDP growth of 0.3% for the quarter and 2.4% for the year.