- Capital Economics
Australia's retail sales recovered in March after a lacklustre start to the year, reflecting strong consumer confidence and improving job market conditions. For the first time in four months Australian retail sales overshot expectations, increasing 0.4% to $24.946 billion in March, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retail sales in the first quarter rose 0.5% from the final quarter of last year. Economists expected a 0.7% gain over the reported period. Although the monthly sales increase beat estimates, it was a different story for quarterly retail volumes, something that accounts for around 30% of household consumption in Australia's GDP. It increased by 0.5% over the quarter, missing expectations for a bigger gain of 0.7%. It is still likely to contribute to GDP, just not as much as had been expected.
A separate report showed Australia's trade shortfall shrank sharply in March after resource exports soared, suggesting recent commodity price gains may be starting to bring Australia's trade books back into balance. Australia posted a seasonally adjusted trade deficit of A$2.16 billion in March, compared with a deficit of A$3.04 billion in February. Australia is becoming a more significant exporter of energy products with a liquefied natural gas boom just getting underway.
© Dukascopy Bank SA