AUSTRALIAN retail sales soared to record highs in the final three months of 2021, fueled by a combination of relaxed Covid restrictions and Christmas shopping, reports Bloomberg.
Sales surged 8.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, recovering from a sharp drop in the prior period when the nation's two most populous states were in lockdown to combat a virus outbreak, said Australian Bureau of Statistics. The gain outpaced economists' expectations of a 7.8 per cent increase.
'Consumers enthusiastically returned to discretionary spending following the end of delta related lockdowns,' said Ben James, director of Quarterly Economy Wide Statistics at the ABS.
'Well publicised concerns over product availability and delivery timeliness led to consumers bringing forward their end of year shopping, in conjunction with a re-opening spending splurge due to pent up consumer demand,' he said.
The result will boost policy makers' confidence that the A$2.1 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) economy is on track for a solid recovery from a pandemic-induced contraction in the third quarter. A surge in household spending is among reasons economists expect the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates in the second half of this year.
The retail report showed clothing, footwear and personal accessories led gains, soaring 43.1 per cent. Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services jumped 18.8 per cent; food retailing - down 1.6 per cent - was the only industry to fall.
The release of consumer demand from the two states that were under protracted lockdowns, New South Wales and Victoria, saw them lead retail gains, jumping 15.3 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively.
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Sales surged 8.2 per cent in the fourth quarter, recovering from a sharp drop in the prior period when the nation's two most populous states were in lockdown to combat a virus outbreak, said Australian Bureau of Statistics. The gain outpaced economists' expectations of a 7.8 per cent increase.
'Consumers enthusiastically returned to discretionary spending following the end of delta related lockdowns,' said Ben James, director of Quarterly Economy Wide Statistics at the ABS.
'Well publicised concerns over product availability and delivery timeliness led to consumers bringing forward their end of year shopping, in conjunction with a re-opening spending splurge due to pent up consumer demand,' he said.
The result will boost policy makers' confidence that the A$2.1 trillion (US$1.5 trillion) economy is on track for a solid recovery from a pandemic-induced contraction in the third quarter. A surge in household spending is among reasons economists expect the Reserve Bank to raise interest rates in the second half of this year.
The retail report showed clothing, footwear and personal accessories led gains, soaring 43.1 per cent. Cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services jumped 18.8 per cent; food retailing - down 1.6 per cent - was the only industry to fall.
The release of consumer demand from the two states that were under protracted lockdowns, New South Wales and Victoria, saw them lead retail gains, jumping 15.3 per cent and 10.2 per cent, respectively.
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