Retail sales end Chrissy binge

By Leith van Onselen

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has just released retail sales figures for the month of February, which registered a 0.2% seasonally-adjusted increase in sales over the month, slightly below economist’s expectations of a 0.3% rise. Annual sales growth clocked in at a solid 4.9%:

Monthly retail sales rose in four jurisdictions and fell in three, and was flat in one:

Retail sales rose across four categories but fell in two in February:

You can see from the next chart that the recent pick-up in recent sales has been driven mostly by discretionary retail, where growth has accelerated from previously depressed levels; although it looks like it might have begun to wane as the Christmas binge wears off:

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