Australia Retail Sales Mom

Retail sales in Australia fell by 0.1% month-on-month in December 2024, marking the first decline in nine months, though the drop was milder than the forecasted 0.7% contraction. Despite the smaller-than-expected decline, the result points to weakening consumer spending, fueling expectations that the Reserve Bank of Australia may start cutting interest rates in the coming month. Several retail sectors experienced contractions, including clothing, footwear, and personal accessories (-1.8%), other retailing (-1.4%), and cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food (-0.5%). On the other hand, retail activity in some categories showed growth, such as household goods retailing (1.6%), department stores (0.4%), and food retailing (0.1%). Geographically, retail sales were down in most regions, with the Australian Capital Territory (-0.7%), South Australia (-0.7%), Queensland (-0.4%), Victoria (-0.2%), Tasmania (-0.1%), and the Northern Territory (-0.1%) all reporting declines.