Westpac says March (and Q1 as a whole) retail sales took a significant hit from wet weather

  • detail points to weather as a major factor
  • impact of Cyclone Debbie in particular (impacting Qld and parts of NSW late in the month of March.)
  • Retail sales fell 1.3% in Qld. Sales across the rest of Australia rose 0.2%mth
  • Q1 real retail sales also came in below expectations... weather again appears to be a key factor: sales in Qld contracted 1%qtr while sales across the rest of Australia rose 0.4%qtr
  • Price discounting was not quite as aggressive as expected

The data post is here from earlier

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ps. ANZ's response says retails sales disappoint:

  • Volumes up just 0.2% in Q1
  • Which sets up a weak base for Q1 GDP
  • Say retail sales per capita continue to weaken: