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Investing.com-- Australia’s retail sales unexpectedly contracted in April, drumming up some concerns that private spending in the country is cooling after years of outperformance, especially amid increased trade and economic uncertainty.
Retail sales fell 0.1% month-on-month in April, compared to expectations that growth would remain steady at 0.3% from the prior month, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics showed on Friday.
Declines in retail spending were centered around clothing, footwear, and accessory retailing, while department stores also clocked declines.
But this was offset by a rebound in spending in Queensland, as the territory began to recover from a devastating cyclone earlier this year.
Spending on food also remained strong, pointing to sustained stickiness in food prices.
Consumers were seen somewhat tightening their purses this year, especially as uncertainty over global trade and the Australian economy was ramped up by increased U.S. trade tariffs.
A sustained decline in retail spending is likely to ramp up concerns over economic growth, potentially attracting more interest rate cuts by the Reserve Bank of Australia. The central bank had cut rates earlier in May and flagged a largely data-driven approach to further easing.