Australia retail sales steady at 0.4 percent in May, beat estimates

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

Australia's consumption, as represented by retail sales, steadied in the month of May, beating estimates, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported on Wednesday. The retail sales arrived at 0.4 percent month-on-month, compared to the forecast of 0.3 percent and unchanged from previous month's reading of 0.4 percent.

May Key Points (via ABS)

Current Prices

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

The seasonally adjusted estimate rose 0.4% in May 2018. This follows a rise in April 2018 of 0.5% and a relatively unchanged result (0.0%) in March 2018.

In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 2.8% in May 2018 compared with May 2017.

The following industries rose in trend terms in May 2018: Food retailing (0.4%), Household goods retailing (0.2%), Department stores (0.5%), Other retailing (0.2%), and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.1%). Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.0%) was relatively unchanged in May 2018.

The following states and territories rose in trend terms in May 2018: New South Wales (0.4%), Victoria (0.3%), Queensland (0.1%), the Australian Capital Territory (0.6%), Tasmania (0.5%), the Northern Territory (0.9%), and South Australia (0.1%). Western Australia (0.0%) was relatively unchanged in May 2018.

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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