Australia's consumption, as represented by retail sales, dropped in the month of July, missing estimates by a big margin, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported on Tuesday. The retail sales arrived at -0.1% percent month-on-month, compared to the forecast of +0.2 percent and down from previous month's reading of +0.4 percent.
July Key Points (via ABS)
Current Prices
The trend estimate rose 0.1% in July 2019. This follows a rise of 0.2% in June 2019, and a rise of 0.2% in May 2019.
The seasonally adjusted estimate fell 0.1% in July 2019. This follows a rise of 0.4% in June 2019, and a rise of 0.1% in May 2019.
In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 2.4% in July 2019 compared with July 2018.
The following industries rose in trend terms in July 2019: Other retailing (0.3%), Food retailing (0.1%), Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.1%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.2%), and Household goods retailing (0.1%). Department stores (0.0%) was relatively unchanged in July 2019.
The following states and territories rose in trend terms in July 2019: Victoria (0.2%), Queensland (0.2%), Western Australia (0.3%), Tasmania (0.3%), South Australia (0.1%), the Australian Capital Territory (0.2%), and the Northern Territory (0.2%). New South Wales (-0.1%) fell in trend terms in July 2019.
Separately, Australia's current account surplus expanded to AUD 5.9 billion in Q2 from the Q1 deficit of AUD -2.9 billion, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Further, the Q2 data surpassed the market forecasts, with a surplus of AUD 1.4 billion expected.
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