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Australia’s gross domestic product grew 0.4% in the June quarter and 2.1% compared with a year earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, as households continued to spend cautiously and business investment fell for the quarter.

Household consumption rose 0.4%, with spending subdued across most categories, the ABS said. Vehicle purchases jumped 10.3%, which the bureau linked to continued household uptake of electric vehicles amid cost-of-living pressures. Private business investment fell 0.5%, largely reflecting a pullback in spending on machinery and equipment for data centre fit-outs after a sharp rise the previous quarter, though the ABS said investment was still 10.4% higher than a year earlier. Imports of services fell 4.9% as the Middle East conflict disrupted Australians’ overseas travel plans, marking the first drop in northern hemisphere summer travel since the COVID-19 pandemic. Exports rose 0.8%, driven by coal, and net trade added 0.1 percentage point to GDP growth.

“Economic growth remained subdued in the June quarter as households continued to behave cautiously,” said Grace Kim, the ABS’s head of National Accounts. The release also included the first estimates for the 2025-26 financial year, with annual GDP up 2.4% and GDP per capita up 0.8%, which Kim attributed to stronger growth in service industries that make up more than 70% of Australia’s economic activity.

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