/world business
(CNN) -- Australia's economic growth slowed to 0.1 percent in the third quarter of 2008, its slowest rate in nearly a decade, according to government figures released Wednesday.
The numbers heightened fears of a recession and came a day after the Reserve Bank of Australia cut its key interest rate for the fourth time since September, slicing another point off the rate to bring it to 4.25 percent. The rate had been at a 14-year high -- 7.25 percent -- in March.
The new rate took effect Wednesday.
The government figures released Wednesday also showed that non-farm growth decreased between June and September by 0.2 percent.
The news follow recent announcements that the United States and Japan were in a recession.
The U.S. National Bureau of Economic Research, the official body that calls economic cycles, said Monday that the United States has been in a recession since December 2007.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday afternoon that the U.S. economic weakness would continue for some time, despite the impact of the government's efforts to get money flowing again.
In mid-November, Japan's Cabinet Office confirmed that the world's second-largest economy was in its first recession since 2001. The office said the country's economy shrank another 0.1 percent in the third quarter, following a 0.9 percent drop in the second quarter.
All About Australian Markets • Financial Markets • Australia • Asia-Pacific Markets
| Most Viewed | Most Emailed |
From the Blogs: 
Sit tight, we're getting to the good stuff
