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Find weather for: Australia Winter weather boosts retail salesfound August 1, 2007 at theage.com.au Unusually cold weather and a moderation in petrol prices enticed shoppers to spend more in June, resulting in a spike in sales that could lead to a hike in interest rates next week. And consumer spending is expected to accelerate for the rest of the year as household incomes rise, economists said. Retail trade climbed by 1.4 per cent in June to a seasonally adjusted $19.18 billion, from $18.91 billion in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) reported. The result was stronger than the median market forecast for a gain of one per cent. Consumers had rushed to the stores to stock up on winter wear as colder-than-usual weather spread across Australia during the month, JPMorgan economist Helen Kevans said. Clothing and soft good sales climbed by a seasonally adjusted 5.6 per cent in June, even though department stores posted only a 0.2 per cent rise in transactions. Ms Kevans said the rebound in retail sales in June was expected after falls in April and May. AMP Capital Investors senior economist Bob Cunneen said a fall in petrol prices and robust labour market conditions had encouraged consumers to pull out their wallets. Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) economist Joseph Capurso said retail spending would continue to grow in 2007 amid strong share market returns and rising house prices boosted after-tax household income. "Real household disposable income is growing strongly at five per cent per annum," he said. "This sort of environment is conducive of solid increases in retail spending." Mr Capurso said the figures reaffirmed the view that the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) would increase interest rates by 25 basis points to 6.50 per cent on Wednesday, August 8. Mr Cunneen agreed that rates would rise next week, particularly after the latest set of inflation data came in on the strong side. The ABS also released Wednesday quarterly figures showing a 0.2 per cent fall in retail sales in the June quarter. The result was much weaker than expectations for a 0.4 per cent rise, and reflected higher prices for consumer goods in the period. Mr Cunneen said subdued spending levels in the three months to June would detract from June quarter economic growth. The next set of economic growth data are due for release in September. © 2007 AAP |
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