Australia retail sales up 0.2% in September

Australian retail turnover rose 0.2 % in September 2018, according to the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Retail Trade figures.

Australian retail sales have come in less than economists expected following a 0.3% rise in August 2018.

Leading the rise by 0.4% was food retailing, and a rise in cafes, restaurants and takeaways, which rose 0.5%.

Lower sales in clothing, footwear and personal accessories contributed to the soft figures, with the three industries falling -1.2%. Household goods and department stores remained relatively unchanged from previous months.

Sales were strongest in the state of Victoria and Tasmania, leading by 0.7%.

There were falls in New South wales of – 0.4%, while Western Australia and The Australian Capital Territory were relatively unchanged in September 2018.

Australian dollar holds gains, despite soft data

The Australian dollar held overnight gains upon the September retail sales news, holding above 0.7200.

IG analyst, Kyle Rodda says this is somewhat due to weaker than forecast ISM Manufacturing data, which led the USD to abandon its bid higher, pushing the Aussie Dollar above 0.7200 overnight.

The ABS report also showed the trend estimate for Australian retail turnover rose 0.2% in September 2018, following a rise of 0.2 per cent in August 2018.

Compared to September 2017, the trend estimate rose 3.5 %.

Online retail turnover contributed 5.6 % to total retail turnover in original terms in September 2018, an unchanged result from August 2018.

In September 2017 online retail turnover contributed 4.4 per cent to total retail.