Seasonal factors, early sales, boost May retail sales

Summary: Retail sales up 0.6% in May, noticeably more than expected; up 1.7% on 12-month basis; ANZ: seasonal factors at play, end-of-financial year sales ramping up earlier; ACGB yields rise modestly; rate-rise expectations firm; Westpac strong population growth cushioning hit to retailers; largest influence on result from food sales. Growth figures of domestic retail sales spent most of the 2010s at levels below the post-1992 average. While economic conditions had...

read full story