— Tom Kennedy, JP Morgan
Australian retail sales dropped for the second straight month in March, official data revealed on Tuesday. According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, sales were down 0.1% on a seasonally adjusted basis in March, following the downwardly revised drop of 0.2% registered in the preceding month and falling short of analysts' expectations for a 0.3% increase. However, in trend terms, Australian turnover soared 2.5% in March compared with the same month a year ago. The rise was backed by an uptick in food retailing, which rose 0.1% in March, but the gain was still offset by a slowdown in household goods retailing and sales of clothing, footwear and personal accessory, with both industries registering a 0.3% dip in the observed period. In the meantime, sales at department stores, cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services were relatively flat, coming in with a 0% change in March. In regional terms, sales plummeted 0.4% in Queensland, 0.1% in West Australia and Tasmania and 0.3% in the Northern Territory, setting off moderate gains observed in other areas.
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