Australia retail sales steady in July, miss expectations as spending cools

Investing.com-- Australian retail sales were unexpectedly flat in July as consumer spending cooled amid persistent pressure from sticky inflation and high interest rates, although a robust job market still kept sales relatively stable. 

Retail sales were flat month-on-month in July, after rising 0.5% in June and 0.6% in May, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday. 

Markets were anticipating a 0.5% increase in July. 

“After rises in the past two months boosted by mid-year sales activity, the higher level of retail turnover was maintained in July,” Ben Dorber, ABS head of retail statistics said in a note. 

Retail spending slowed substantially over the past year, amid interest rate hikes and sticky inflation. But while their pace of growth slowed, sales figures still trended steadily higher in recent months. 

A robust job market has been a major driver of this trend, as recent data showed unemployment remained weak while participation in the employment market hit record highs. 

Australian inflation also eased slightly in the June quarter, with decreases in core inflation suggesting that pressure on the consumer was easing. But inflation read higher-than-expected in July, data showed earlier this week.

Consumer spending has also come under pressure from high interest rates, following a series of rate hikes by the Reserve Bank of Australia since 2022. 

The central bank recently signaled that it could still raise rates further if inflation remained sticky.