Australia retail sales up 0.6% in Jan, Covid-19 restrictions a drag

[SYDNEY] Australian retail sales rose by less than expected in January as a coronavirus lockdown in the city of Brisbane kept shoppers at home, continuing the see saw pattern of sales in recent months.

Sales rose 0.6 per cent in January, from December, missing market forecasts of a 2.0 per cent gain, preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Friday.

Yet sales of A$30.54 billion (S$31.5 billion) were still up a strong 10.7 per cent on January last year, before the pandemic hit.

The state of Queensland saw a fall of 1.5 per cent as Covid-19 restrictions in Brisbane hit household goods retailing, clothing, footwear and department stores.

Retail activity has been wildly volatile in recent months amid lockdowns and massively popular online sale events, with spending surging 7.1 per cent in November only to dive 4.1 per cent in December.

The pandemic has also confounded the usual seasonal adjustment pattern and exaggerated moves in both directions.

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The ABS will release the final estimate on March 4.

REUTERS