Australia marks record 26 years without recession

Sydney

AUSTRALIA marked a record 26 years without a recession on Wednesday, as the economy grew 0.3 per cent in the first quarter, official data showed.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics put the annual rate of growth at 1.7 per cent, down from 2.4 per cent in the previous three months.

The soft quarterly reading was widely expected by analysts amid the impact of Cyclone Debbie on eastern Australia in late March, weaker trade figures and tepi…