Australia retail sales on track for a much improved Q2 - Westpac

Analysts at Westpac out with their afterthoughts on the latest Australian retail sales release, which exceeded expectations.

Key Points:

“The detail was mostly positive

Strong rises across most non-food categories - including a notable 2.2% bounce in household goods retail

Overall the gain puts retail sales on track for a much improved Q2 after weather events contributed to a very soft Q1 (sales volumes up just 0.1%qtr). While it remains to be seen just how much food price rises have contributed to recent nominal sales gains, the picture from non food retail is promising.”