06.03.201822:47:00UTC+00Australian Economy Grew 0.4% in the 4th Quarter

Australia's economy expanded at a softer pace in the last three months of 2017 as exports and construction declined which offset a rebound in household consumption.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the country's gross domestic product expanded 0.4 percent quarter-on-quarter in the three months through the end of December, pulling back from the 0.7 percent growth in the previous quarter.

The result would be something of a disappointment for the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA), which only kept interest rates steady at 1.50 percent on Tuesday in anticipation of faster growth and a gradual revival in inflation.

The Australian economy is moving toward services driven growth and away from mining investment, which showed in the construction decline, as the RBA kept interest rates at a record low in order to support the transition.

Household consumption increased one percent during the period while exports of rural goods and transport equipment declined. The RBA expects the decline in exports to be temporary, although uncertainty surrounding the outlook for consumer spending continues to persist.

Over the year to December, the value of goods and services produced amounted to A$1.8 trillion ($1.40 trillion) in current dollars, or about A$73,000 for each of Australia's 24.5 million people.

In year-on-year terms, GDP expanded 2.4 percent in the fourth quarter, which is a slower rate than the 2.8 percent pace recorded in the previous quarter.

The Australian dollar fell 0.7 percent on Wednesday morning at $0.7775.