AUD: Mildly disappointing run continues for retail sales – Westpac

By FXStreet FXStreet (Delhi) – Matthew Hassan, Senior Economist at Westpac, suggests that the Australian September retail sales report continued to show subdued conditions.

Key Quotes

“Sales rose 0.4% in the month, repeating August’s soft growth read. The rise was in line with the consensus forecast but weaker than we had been expecting based on reported improvements in a range of private sector business surveys. Trend growth continues to track a 3-3½% annualised pace, well below the 4½% growth averaged over the last 10yrs.”

“Real retail sales (i.e. volumes) were up 0.6% for Q3 as a whole, again coming in below expectations, albeit only slightly. The main surprise for us was around the retail price deflator which posted a 0.3% rise vs expectations of a 0.1%. Trend growth in real retail sales is tracking a 2.4% annualised pace, below the 2.9% average over the last 10yrs.”

“The state breakdowns continues to show divergent conditions running with firmer growth in NSW, Vic, SA and Tasmania (running at 3.8%yr on a combined basis) compared to the Qld and WA (the mining states tracking a 1.8%yr pace on a combined basis).”

“Large retailers are clearly outperforming with sales flatlining across small retailers as a whole.”

“Overall, the September report was mildly …read more

Source:: FX Street