Australia: Retail sales stable in April
Retail sales were unchanged in month-on-month seasonally-adjusted terms in April, which contrasted March’s 0.4% increase. The downturn was primarily due to drops in household goods and food retailing sales. Lastly, department stores sales accelerated, while cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services sales fell at a steeper pace than in March.
On an annual basis, growth in retail sales slowed to 4.2% in April from 5.6% in March.