Australia's economy slowed significantly despite surging data centre investment, but interest rate rises and the effects of the Iran war mean a downturn may be inevitable.
Gross domestic product grew at 0.3 per cent in the first three months of the year, down steeply from the rapid 0.9 per cent expansion recorded in the December quarter, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday.
The result was slightly below economist forecasts for 0.4 per cent growth.
Underpinning the economy's growth was the remarkable $8.7 billion invested in the data centre build-out in the March quarter.
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was a solid result given the circumstances, singling out the 5.7 per cent growth in business investment over the quarter.
