Australia: Retail sales growth ticks down in September
Nominal retail sales growth in September came in at 0.2% over the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, following August’s 0.3% expansion. This was slightly below market expectations of a 0.3% rise. Sluggish wage growth, declining house prices and high household debt continued to weigh on consumer spending, and translated into the weakest expansion in retail sales in one-and-a-half years in Q3.
Higher sales in food retailing, cafes, restaurants and takeaways led the expansion, partially offset by lower sales in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing.
In annual terms, retail sales expanded 2.8% in September, down from August’s 4.2% jump. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales in September inched up to 2.7% from August’s 2.6%.