SYDNEY, Dec 6 (Reuters) - Australia's current account fell into deficit for the first time in three years last quarter as prices for its resource exports eased and robust domestic demand sucked in more imports, taking some gloss off economic growth overall.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed the current account slid to a deficit of A$2.3 billion ($1.54 billion) in the September quarter. That was down from a surplus of A$14.7 billion the previous quarter and far away from forecasts of a A$6.2 billion surplus.
However, net exports will subtract only 0.2 percentage points from gross domestic product (GDP) in the third quarter, when analysts had looked for a drag of 0.6 percentage points.
