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Investing.com-- Australia’s retail sales surged past expectations in June, boosted by strong discretionary spending amid mid-year sales and discounts, with household goods leading the rise.
Retail sales rose 1.2% month-on-month in June from a revised 0.5% growth in the prior month, and came in sharply above expectations of a 0.4% growth, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.
ABS also released quarterly retail sales volumes, which rose 0.3% in the June quarter from nearly flat levels in the prior quarter.
There were increases in all industries, led by household goods retailing, while food-related spending also rebounded in June.
"The strong June month rise in retail turnover was driven by discounts linked to sales and new product releases," Robert Ewing, ABS head of business statistics, said in a statement.
"After steady growth throughout the year, mid-year sales events increased spending on discretionary items like furniture, electrical goods and clothing items," he added.
While robust retail spending figures contradict bets of more interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia, recent soft inflation prints have bolstered expectations of a cut next month.