The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released retail sales figures for the month of May, which registered a seasonally-adjusted 0.1% increase over the month versus an expected 0.3% rise. Annual sales growth clocked in at 2.3% (3.3% trend):
Retail sales have been relatively stronger in the resource states and weaker elsewhere:
As usual, performance across the key components was mixed, with four components recording positive monthly growth and two negative growth. Over the year, food retailing has dominated growth, whereas clothing, footwear & personal accessories and department stores sales have been weak particularly weak (see next chart).
Overall, there’s not much joy in this release, with retail sales again disappointing analysts’ expectations and falling by around 0.5% in over the past quarter.
