Australia: Retail sales rebounds robustly in March
Nominal retail sales in March increased 1.3% over the previous month in seasonally-adjusted terms, swinging from February’s 0.8% drop. The removal of Covid-19 associated restrictions in Victoria and parts of Western Australia supported households’ retail spending.
Healthy increases in cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services as well as in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing led the rise, while a decline was recorded in food retailing.
In annual terms, retail sales grew 4.0% in March, down from February’s 5.2% increase. Meanwhile, annual average growth in retail sales declined to 6.8% from February’s 7.3%.