Global| Sep 03 2003Australian Retail Sales Higher
Summary
Retail sales in Australia rose 0.8% in July, month-to-month on a seasonally adjusted basis; it was the second strong month in succession and marks the continuation of a pick-up that began in March. The final months of 2002 and [...]
Retail sales in Australia rose 0.8% in July, month-to-month on a seasonally adjusted basis; it was the second strong month in succession and marks the continuation of a pick-up that began in March. The final months of 2002 and beginning of 2003 had seen distinct weakness. Widely monthly volatility in these data mean that Australians frequently headline a "trend-cycle" calculation, which has registered its fourth month at 0.7%, having bottomed last December at 0.2%.
The July performance was driven by good sales gains at food stores, household goods retailers (furniture and appliances), recreation outlets, and restaurants and other hospitality centers. Department and clothing stores, by contrast, saw their sales – better known as "turnover" in Australia – decline in the month.
These Australian retail sales data exclude motor vehicle dealers but include such service outlets as hair salons. Total retail sales accounted for 38.5% of household consumption expenditures in the second quarter; this seems remarkably similar to the comparable US "retail sales excluding motor vehicle dealers" measure, which absorbed 37.2% of US PCE (all in current prices) in the same period.
| Australia: Retail Sales |
July 2003 | June 2003 | May 2003 | Year/-Year | December/December|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | |||||
| Seasonally Adjusted* | 0.8 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 7.3 | 6.1 | 6.7 | 3.5 |
| Trend/Cycle Calculation | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 5.8 | 6.5 | 8.0 | 5.4 |
Carol Stone, CBE
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Carol Stone, CBE came to Haver Analytics in 2003 following more than 35 years as a financial market economist at major Wall Street financial institutions, most especially Merrill Lynch and Nomura Securities. She has broad experience in analysis and forecasting of flow-of-funds accounts, the federal budget and Federal Reserve operations. At Nomura Securites, among other duties, she developed various indicator forecasting tools and edited a daily global publication produced in London and New York for readers in Tokyo. At Haver Analytics, Carol is a member of the Research Department, aiding database managers with research and documentation efforts, as well as posting commentary on select economic reports. In addition, she conducts Ways-of-the-World, a blog on economic issues for an Episcopal-Church-affiliated website, The Geranium Farm. During her career, Carol served as an officer of the Money Marketeers and the Downtown Economists Club. She has a PhD from NYU's Stern School of Business. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, and has a weekend home on Long Island.
