Australia’s retail sales rose 1.3% month-on-month in July to a record AU $ 34.7 billion (the equivalent of US $ 23.8 billion), well above analysts’ estimates of an increase of + 0.3%.
Growth was the strongest in the past four months.
In addition, retail sales in Australia jumped by 16.5% on an annual basis: however, it must be considered that, in July of last year, several stores had been closed due to the lockdown measures launched against the Covid-19 pandemic.
That said, Australians’ propensity to consume has shown undoubted resilience, considering that the latest inflation data highlighted a surge in prices at the highest level of the last 21 years, equal to + 6.1%, in the quarter ending in June, in the wake of the boom in energy, construction and food prices.