Australia retail sales rise in September, remain above market expectations

Retail sales in Australia rose during the month of September, staying above what markets had initially anticipated.

Australian retail sales rose by 0.6 percent in September from August, data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed Friday. That was higher than the 0.4 percent rise expected by economists polled by The Wall Street Journal.

The ABS revised August retail sales growth higher to 0.5 percent from 0.4 percent previously reported. In a signal of ongoing strength in the home-renovation market, sales of household goods rose by 2.3 percent in September from August. That was the highest increase in more than a year and more than four times the growth in the previous month.

The data further showed that sales rose in household goods by 2.3 percent, cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services by 1.0 percent, food (0.2 percent) and department stores (0.5 percent), offsetting declines in clothing, footwear and personal accessories by -0.6 percent and other retailing by -0.1 percent.

Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia this week left interest rates on hold at 1.50 percent. It passed up the opportunity to cut interest rates further given evidence of broad strength in the economy, and cited solid confidence level in its decision, reports added.