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5 Feb 2015
Australian retail sales a touch softer - ANZ
FXStreet (Bali) - According to ANZ Economists, the soft Australian retail sales result is consistent with patchy anecdotes from retailers and subdued consumer confidence in the month.
Key Quotes
"Retail sales growth was a touch below expectations in December, rising just 0.2% m/m (ANZ & mkt: +0.3%). The soft result is consistent with patchy anecdotes from retailers and subdued consumer confidence in the month. It also suggests that consumers were saving, rather than spending, the bulk of the income boost from lower petrol prices (which were down almost 10% nationally in December)."
" Electronics sales surprisingly rose another 1.5% m/m and the bulk of the earlier strength in electronic sales (which include iPhone 6) is yet to unwind. Ex-electronics, sales rose just 0.1% m/m following a modest 0.2% m/m rise in November, suggesting underlying momentum in retail sales remains soft."
"Retail volumes rose a strong 1.5% q/q in Q4, however retail prices were flat in the quarter (the weakest since Q1 2013). This suggests retailers are struggling to raise prices and is consistent with a weak demand environment. Retail sales should make a solid contribution to GDP growth in Q4 but we hesitate to extrapolate the strength to non-retail spending given retail has been a poor guide to aggregate household spending recently."
"These data confirm that retail sales lost momentum at the end of 2014 and lower petrol prices and a falling AUD have done little to boost sales. We expect a lift in consumer confidence is the key to any lasting improvement in retail spending."
Key Quotes
"Retail sales growth was a touch below expectations in December, rising just 0.2% m/m (ANZ & mkt: +0.3%). The soft result is consistent with patchy anecdotes from retailers and subdued consumer confidence in the month. It also suggests that consumers were saving, rather than spending, the bulk of the income boost from lower petrol prices (which were down almost 10% nationally in December)."
" Electronics sales surprisingly rose another 1.5% m/m and the bulk of the earlier strength in electronic sales (which include iPhone 6) is yet to unwind. Ex-electronics, sales rose just 0.1% m/m following a modest 0.2% m/m rise in November, suggesting underlying momentum in retail sales remains soft."
"Retail volumes rose a strong 1.5% q/q in Q4, however retail prices were flat in the quarter (the weakest since Q1 2013). This suggests retailers are struggling to raise prices and is consistent with a weak demand environment. Retail sales should make a solid contribution to GDP growth in Q4 but we hesitate to extrapolate the strength to non-retail spending given retail has been a poor guide to aggregate household spending recently."
"These data confirm that retail sales lost momentum at the end of 2014 and lower petrol prices and a falling AUD have done little to boost sales. We expect a lift in consumer confidence is the key to any lasting improvement in retail spending."