- Felicity Emmett, ANZ economist
Australia's retail sales rose in January, but disappointed economists' expectations as consumers pared back on food shopping. Retail sales increased a seasonally adjusted 0.3% on month in January, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, compared with December's result that was flat, but slightly below economists' forecast of a 0.4% rise.
The retail spending data came days after GDP report showed the Australian economy grew at the fastest pace in almost two years in the final quarter of 2015, a sign the worst of the global commodity rout may be over. Australia's gross domestic economy rose 0.6% in the fourth quarter from the July-September period, when the economy grew an upwardly revised 1.1%, outpacing economists' forecast for a 0.4% growth. That propelled growth for the whole year to 3%, compared with 2.5% that had been expected by analysts. Consumers were the main driver of growth, with household consumption expenditure increasing 2.9% annually. Households spent more last year even though their wages rose just 2.2%, the slowest annual rate on record. The improvement of labour demand over the last year despite weak economic growth levels has been an important measure of the economy's strength through mining downturn, and something that surprised policy makers.
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