March Retail Sales seen +8.2%........>

AUSTRALIA DATA: March Retail Sales seen +8.2% (flash +8.2); Q1 + 1.7% Q/Q VS

+0.5% Q4 

---A new preliminary data set released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics

showed an 8.2% spike in retail sales in March, helped by consumer stockpiling.

This is the strongest m/m change in the history of the ABS reporting this data

series. The revised data is seen in line with flash readings.

--Retail sales fell 0.3% in January before improving by 0.5% in February. For

Q1, sales are likely to grow around 1.8% q/q, outpacing the 0.3% growth seen in

Q4.

- Due to the Covid-19 disruptions, sales have been uneven across the economy.

Supermarket sales have surged, up by 22.4% according to the preliminary figures

for March, with of canned food, medicinal products and clean products surged

50%.

- Sales at cafes, restaurants and take away food outlets was in negative

territory due to the disruption.