Aussie Retail Sales beats at 0.4% vs. 0.2%

The Retail Sales released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is out as follows:

• March Retail Sales +0.4% MoM (expected 0.2%).

Spending on food and eating out was tempered by falls in clothing, household goods and department stores, dragging annual growth in sales to a 14-month low.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Wednesday showed retail sales rose 0.4% in March from February when they rose 0.2%. Sales of A$35.31 billion ($23.53 billion) were up 5.4% from a year earlier, but that was down from 6.4% growth in February, Reuters reported.

AUD/USD is steady on the data at around 0.6666.

The bias is bullish while above support and on the backside of the prior bearish trendline. The focus is on a break of the 0.6720s to open risk to the 0.6770s. 

About The Retail Sales

The Retail Sales released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics is a survey of goods sold by retailers is based on a sampling of retail stores of different types and sizes and it''s considered as an indicator of the pace of the Australian economy. It shows the performance of the retail sector over the short and mid-term. Positive economic growth anticipates bullish trends for the AUD, while a low reading is seen as negative or bearish.