The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released retail sales figures for the month of December, which registered a 0.5% seasonally-adjusted increase in sales over the month, which met economist’s expectations. Annual sales growth clocked in at a solid 5.7%:
Monthly retail sales rose in five jurisdictions, fell in two, and was flat in one:
The increase in retail sales was driven by a big jump (+2.5%) in food retailing, with Department Store sales (+0.3%) and Cafes, Restaurants & Takeaway Foods (+0.5%) also rising. By contrast, big falls were recorded in Other Retailing (-3.1%) and Clothing, Footwear & Personal Accessories (-2.1%), with a smaller fall also recorded in Household Goods retailing (-0.2%):
You can see from the next chart that the pick-up in recent sales has been driven mostly by discretionary retail, where growth has picked-up from depressed levels:
Overall, the pick-up in discretionary retail sales suggests that consumers enjoyed moderately more Christmas cheer than in the last few years, as H&H forecast.
unconventionaleconomist@hotmail.com
