SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian household spending rose for a fourth straight month in January, driven by a rise in services, although the annual pace of growth slowed, data showed on Friday.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics’ monthly household spending indicator (MHSI) showed a seasonally adjusted rise of 0.4% in January from December, when it rose by 0.2%.

Annual growth, however, slowed to 2.9% from 4.2% in the previous month.

Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said consumers reduced spending on goods, having already taken advantage of promotional events such as Black Friday sales at the end of last year.

"A 1.5% rise for services drove the January growth. This came as households spent more on health services, air travel, and sports and physical recreation services," Ewing said.

The MHSI series will replace the current retail sales report from July and is much broader in scope covering 68% of household consumption, more than double the retail survey.

It includes spending on many services and should offer a better guide on what to expect from household consumption in the gross domestic product (GDP) report.