Manufacturing output edged down 0.1 percent after expanding 0.7 percent in Q3. Meantime, construction lost steam in Q4 (0.7 percent vs 3.5 percent) and primary industries plunged 2.4 percent after remaining unchanged in the previous quarter, with agriculture contracting 3.2 percent (vs -0.4 percent in Q3).
In contrast, utilities rebounded 1.5 percent after plunging 1.9 percent, whereas services grew further (1.1 percent vs 0.6 percent in Q3) nudged by wholesale trade (2.2 percent vs 0.7 percent) and retail trade & accommodation (1.6 percent vs 0.0 percent).
Year-on-year, GDP expanded 2.9 percent, also below consensus expectations of 3.1 percent growth and the slowest growth rate since September of 2014.