SYDNEY, Aug 27 (Reuters) – Australian business investment fell in the June quarter as a record rush into data centre construction slowed for now, figures showed on Thursday, while companies upgraded spending plans for coming months.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics reported private capital spending fell 3.6% in the second quarter to an inflation-adjusted A$50.95 billion ($36.58 billion), well under market forecasts of a 0.5% rise.
That was due to a 53% drop in spending on information media and telecommunications equipment after record investments in server racks and processing equipment for data centres last quarter, said ABS.
Spending on plant and machinery skidded 8.9%, while spending on buildings and structures rose 2.1%. An ABS survey of firms showed they planned to spend A$200.7 billion in the year to June 2027, 15.5% higher than the previous estimate.
($1 = 1.3928 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Stella Qiu; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)
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