Australian retail sales misses expectations

FXStreet (Bali) - The Australian retail sales numbers for the month of March disappointed, rising by a mere 0.1% where market had expected a 0.4% increase. The previous Feb data was revised upwards to 0.3% from 0.2%.

MARCH KEY POINTS

CURRENT PRICES

The trend estimate rose 0.5% in March 2014. This follows a rise of 0.6% in February 2014 and a rise of 0.6% in January 2014.

The seasonally adjusted estimate rose 0.1% in March 2014. This follows a rise of 0.3% in February 2014 and a rise of 1.1% in January 2014.
In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 6.1% in March 2014 compared with March 2013.

The following industries rose in trend terms in March 2014: Food retailing (0.5%), Household goods retailing (1.1%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (1.0%) and Other retailing (0.2%). Department stores (-0.6%) and Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-0.2%) fell in trend terms in March 2014.

The following states and territories rose in trend terms in March 2014: New South Wales (0.9%), Victoria (0.5%), Queensland (0.4%), Tasmania (0.6%) and the Northern Territory (0.4%). South Australia and Western Australia were relatively unchanged (0.0%). The Australian Capital Territory (-0.5%) fell in trend terms in March 2014.

VOLUME MEASURES

In volume terms, the trend estimate for Australian turnover rose 1.1% in the March quarter 2014.