CANBERRA, March 6, 2024 (BSS/Xinhua) - Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.2 percent in the final quarter of 2023, down from 0.3 percent in the previous three months, data published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed.

 Meanwhile, gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the 12 months to the end of December was 1.5 percent, the ABS said.

 "Even weak growth is welcome growth in the circumstances," Treasurer Jim Chalmers said in a statement on Wednesday.

 "The UK and Japan both finished the year in recession. Around a quarter of G20 nations have recorded a technical recession or narrowly avoided one."

 The ABS identified government spending and private business investment as the main drivers of GDP growth in the final three months of 2023.

 Imports to Australia fell 3.4 percent between the end of September and the end of December while exports fell 0.3 percent.

 Household spending grew by 0.1 percent in the same period and the household saving ratio -- the portion of net saving as a percentage of household disposable income -- rose for the first time since 2021 to 3.2 percent.