SYDNEY — Australia’s household spending fell in December after a rise the previous month, as consumers pulled back spending on household goods, recreation and food, data from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia showed on Monday. The CommBank Household Spending Insights (HSI) index fell 3.9 percent to 137.0 in the Christmas month from November when it rose 1.6 percent thanks to Black Friday sales. The annual rate of increase remained subdued, up just 3.1 percent. The data confirmed consumers brought forward spending to take advantage of the Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales in November, upsetting a longstanding tradition of big spending on Boxing Day, a public holiday the day after Christmas. READ: Australia’s economy slows to a crawl, consumer spending…
