Australia June Retail Sales Slow but Q2 Volume Up Sharply

     SYDNEY (MNI) - Retail trade data for June and the second quarter published

by the Australian Bureau of Statistics on Friday:

                                                 June                        May

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                   (M/M %, seasonally         (M/M %, seasonally

                                            adjusted)                  adjusted)

Retail Sales                                     +0.3         +0.6 (no revision)

MNI Median                                       +0.1

Food Retailing                                    0.0                        0.0

Household Goods                                  +0.9                       +2.3

Clothing, Footwear etc                           +0.8                       +1.5

Department Stores                                -0.3                       -0.9

Other Retailing                                  +0.2                       +0.5

Cafes, Restaurants,

Takeaways                                        +0.5                       +0.5

                                                  Q2                          Q1

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

                                  (Q/Q %, seasonally          (Q/Q %, seasonally

                                           adjusted)                   adjusted)

Retail Sales (Volume)                           +1.5     +0.2(revised from +0.1)

MNI Median                                      +1.3

Food Retailing                                  +1.0                        +0.6

Household Goods                                 +2.5                        +0.7

Clothing, Footwear etc                          +2.8                        -1.1

Department Stores                               +3.1                        +0.4

Other Retailing                                 +1.9                        +0.5

Cafes, Restaurants,

Takeaways                                       +0.8                        +0.2

     FACTORS: Retail sales rose in June -- up for a third consecutive month but

they slowed compared with the month before as household-goods retailing growth

slowed. Food was flat for the second consecutive month and in trend terms rose

0.2% for the fifth consecutive month -- down from a recent peak of an 0.4% rise

in November. Overall retail sales were up 0.4% in trend terms for a third

consecutive month and have risen from just +0.1% in January.

     In volume terms second-quarter retail sales accelerated for the biggest

increase in nine quarters. 

     TAKEAWAY: The strong volume growth in second quarter retail sales suggests

household consumption will make a decent contribution to Q2 GDP. 

--MNI Sydney Bureau; tel: +61 2-9716-5467; email: sophia.rodrigues@marketnews.com

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