Australia retail sales drop to 0.0% in July, below estimates

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Australia's consumption, as represented by retail sales, dropped in the month of July, missing estimates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported on Monday. The retail sales arrived at 0.0 percent month-on-month, compared to the forecast of 0.3 percent and down from previous month's reading of 0.4 percent.

July Key Points (via ABS)

Current Prices

The trend estimate rose 0.3% in July 2018. This follows a rise of 0.3% in June 2018 and a rise of 0.3% in May 2018.

The seasonally adjusted estimate was relatively unchanged (0.0%) in July 2018. This follows a rise of 0.4% in June 2018 and a rise of 0.4% in May 2018.

In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 3.2% in July 2018 compared with July 2017.

The following industries rose in trend terms in July 2018: Food retailing (0.4%), Other retailing (0.4%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.5%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.3%), and Department stores (0.1%). Household goods retailing was relatively unchanged (0.0%).

The following states and territories rose in trend terms in July 2018: New South Wales (0.4%), Victoria (0.4%), Queensland (0.1%), Tasmania (0.6%), South Australia (0.2%), the Australian Capital Territory (0.5%), and the Northern Territory (0.2%). Western Australia was relatively unchanged (0.0%).

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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