The ABS has released preliminary retail sales data for March, which has recorded the biggest ever (8.2%) rise on the back of grocery hoarding:
The seasonally adjusted estimate rose 8.2% ($2,284.0m) from February 2020 to March 2020. This result is the strongest seasonally adjusted month-on-month rise in the history of the series.
In seasonally adjusted terms, Australian turnover rose 9.8% in March 2020 compared with March 2019.
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Leith van Onselen is Chief Economist at the MB Fund and MB Super. He is also a co-founder of MacroBusiness.
Leith has previously worked at the Australian Treasury, Victorian Treasury and Goldman Sachs.
