Australia’s retail sales came in better than expected in September, data showed on Tuesday, a sign that consumers are responding to more than a year of record-low interest rates.
Retail sales rose 1.2 percent from the month before, much better than a Reuters consensus for a 0.3 percent gain.
The increase was across the board, with department-store, household goods and cafe-and-restaurant sales all recording big increases. Department-store sales added 1.3 percent, while sales of household good surged 4.1 percent. Cafe-and-restaurant sales rose 2.0 percent.
Trade data released at the same time showed imports rose a seasonally-adjusted 6 percent from August, while exports climbed one percent. This brings September trade deficit to 2.26 billion Australian dollars, compared with expectations of a 1.95 billion deficit.
via CNBC
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