Australia: Retail sales continue to expand in May
Nominal retail sales grew 0.4% month-on-month in seasonally-adjusted terms in May (April: +1.1% s.a. mom).
The headline reading reflected marked expansions in food retailing and cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services more than offsetting lower sales in household good retailing and department stores.
In annual terms, retail sales expanded 7.1% in the month (April: +23.8% yoy), still benefiting from a favorable base effect. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales increased to 9.4% in May, from 9.2% in April.