Australia: Retail sales growth deteriorates in February
Retail sales expanded 0.2% in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in February, which was a deterioration from January’s 1.8% increase. February’s notable downturn was largely due to a slowdown in household goods and clothing and footwear sales. Lastly, department stores sales lost pace, while cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services sales moderated.
On an annual basis, growth in retail sales slowed to 6.5% in February from 7.7% in January