Retail recession ends but consumer recession endures

Friday, 7 February 2020

Retail sales figures released by the ABS will boost December quarter GDP when the national accounts are released early next month.

In quarterly real chain volume terms, retail sales rose by 0.5% in the December quarter, rebounding from the September quarter’s 0.1% decline:

This rebound pushed annual sales volumes growth into positive territory, rising to 0.4% from -0.3% in the September quarter, and in the process officially ending the retail recession:

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About the author

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.