[The Epoch Times, January 11, 2022](The Epoch Times reporter Xiao Jie compiled and reported in Sydney, Australia) After Australia’s epidemic restrictions were eased last year, retail sales surged by 7.3% in November, but there are signs that the Omicron variant strain has subsequently spread. appeared to inhibit consumption.
The growth in retail trade in November was the fourth-largest monthly increase on record, lifting sales to an all-time high of $33.4 billion, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said. The previous record for the highest sales was set in November 2020.
“Further easing of restrictions in the southeastern states and territories has brought the retail sector back to all the momentum it lost due to the spread of the Delta strain,” said Ben James, head of quarterly economic wide-ranging statistics at the Australian Bureau of Statistics. “
Sean Langcake, senior economist at BIS Oxford Economics, expects the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant will have only a limited impact on December sales figures, but It will pose a challenge at the beginning of the year. “Consumer caution will reduce foot traffic in stores, while supply chain and labor supply disruptions will further limit sales,” he said.
Another figure shows consumer confidence has fallen across Australia due to the rapid spread of the Omicron strain. The weekly ANZ-Roy Morgan Australian Consumer Confidence Index, released for the first time this year, is down 2.2 per cent from the level in the last pre-Christmas survey.
David Plank, head of Australian economics at ANZ, said: “The rapid increase in Omicron infections across the country may have contributed to the subdued outlook for the first week of January. Confidence has fallen across all capital cities, Adelaide the worst.”
In the 10-year period from 2011 to 2020, consumer confidence rose an average of 2.6% in the first week of January in the survey, Plank said. “So this result is even worse than it looks.”
However, the Consumer Confidence Survey found that respondents were still relatively satisfied with their financial situation. The sub-index for views on “current financial conditions” rose 1.4% and the sub-index for views on “future financial conditions” rose 0.7%.
“This is potentially ready for a quick rebound (consumption) once people have more confidence in health outcomes,” Plank said.
Still, sentiment about the “current state of the economy” fell 8.7%, the lowest level since last September. At the time, more than half of Australia’s population was in lockdown and the economy was in contraction.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics also released international trade data for November. It showed the trade surplus shrank to A$9.4 billion in November after a reduction of A$10.8 billion in October. Imports grew by 6%, outpacing the 2% increase in exports.
Responsible editor: Yue Ming
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