Australia: Weakness in retail sales continues – ANZ

ANZ analysts note that the weakness in retail sales continued in May for the Australian economy, with only a slight tick-up after the April decline as it printed 0.1% m/m in May, below market expectations.

Key Quotes

“Annual growth declined for the third straight month, coming to 2.4%.”

“Furniture/homewares and electrical goods led monthly growth, in keeping with the “holiday effect”, as households tend to delay purchases of home-related goods during the April holidays. Liquor, recreation, department stores and specialised food all saw declines in line with expected normalisation after holiday spending in April.”

“Growth in April was concentrated in ACT, VIC and SA, while a strong monthly result in NT and sales contraction in QLD bucked their annual trends.”