Commsec has today released its Bank Business Sales Indicator (BSI), which tracks the value of credit and debit card transactions processed through Commonwealth Bank merchant facilities, and covers spending broadly across the economy rather than just retail sales, including spending on automobiles, personal services and airlines.
According to Commsec, the BSI rose by 0.3% in August in trend terms, representing the 12th consecutive month of growth, but also the slowest pace of growth in 11 months (see next chart).
Across sectors, five of the 19 industry sectors fell in trend terms in August. Spending fell most in Utilities, down by 1.4%, followed by Business Services and Transportation (down 0.8%), Retail Stores (down 0.3%); and Automobile & Vehicle Rentals (down 0.2%).
Amongst the strongest sectors in August were Amusement & Entertainment (up 6.5%), Wholesale Distributors & Manufacturers (up by 2.0%), and Automobiles & Vehicles (up 1.3%).
Only one of the states and territories recorded weaker sales in trend terms in August: Western Australia, down by 0.3% and the biggest decline in 27 months. Spending in Western Australia has now fallen for four straight months.
In annual terms, no state or territory had sales below a year ago. Strongest growth was posted in ACT (up 16.4%), followed by South Australia (up 14.6%), NSW (up 10.3%), and Tasmania (up 9.9%).
