Australia: Retail sales contract in December
Nominal retail sales in December shrank 4.2% over the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, contrasting November’s 7.1% surge.
December’s result came on the back of declines in household goods retailing, clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing, department stores, food retailing and other retailing.
In annual terms, retail sales jumped 12.1% in November (the latest month for which data is available), following October’s 7.7% expansion. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales rose from 5.0% in October to 5.8% in November, marking the best reading since November 2009.