December retail sales fell 3.9 per cent month-on-month according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the first drop in sales in 2022.
The Reserve Bank of Australia’s relentless push to raise the official interest rate is beginning to take a toll on consumption, with December retail sales showing a large fall in turnover.
Monthly sales pulled back $1.4 billion to $34.4 billion in seasonally adjusted terms, which is still the sixth-highest result on record. “People are under pressure and that’s why our focus is on providing cost-of-living relief without adding to inflation.”, economists questioned the fall, and in particular how Black Friday sales are messing with data.“Disruptions to retail spending patterns through the pandemic alongside the shifting duration of Black Friday sales is likely influencing the ABS’s seasonal adjustment process.
Spending on dining out and takeaways remained largely steady, while spending on food rose slightly. Tuesday’s figures were presented in nominal terms,But even with likely statistical anomalies, economists and the ABS said the size of the December falls strongly suggested a slowdown in consumption connected to the nation’s cost of living crisis.
“We think the RBA will lift rates by 25 basis points in February and March, before pausing thereafter,” Mr Strickland said.
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