Australia Retail Sales Mom

Australian retail sales fell 0.1% in April 2025, defying market expectations for a 0.3% rise, which was also the figure recorded in the previous month. This marked the first decline in retail turnover since December, weighed by sharper drops in clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (-2.5% vs -0.2% in March) and department stores (-2.5% vs -0.8%). Food retailing also slipped 0.3%, reversing a 0.8% gain in the previous month. In contrast, sales rose for household goods retailing (0.6% vs -0.1%), other retailing (0.7% vs 0.8%), and cafes, restaurants, and takeaway food services (1.1% vs -0.5%). Regionally, sales declined in New South Wales (-1.0%), Victoria (-0.3%), South Australia (-0.1%), Tasmania (-0.3%), the Northern Territory (-0.2%), and the Australian Capital Territory (-0.7%), but increased in Queensland (1.4%) and Western Australia (0.4%). On an annual basis, retail sales grew 3.8%, easing from March’s three-month high of 4.3%.