Australia's Aug retail sales beats expectations

Australia Aug retail sales came in at +0.4% MoM vs +0.2% expected and a 0% prior. The data should be a positive input for the Aussie, however, the ECB taper talk is the main theme at the moment, and since the rumour favours a flee off higher yielding currencies such as the Aussie, the upside may be limited.

August key points - current prices

The trend estimate rose 0.1% in August 2016. This follows a rise of 0.1% in July 2016 and a rise of 0.1% in June 2016.

The seasonally adjusted estimate rose 0.4% in August 2016. This follows a relatively unchanged July 2016 (0.0%) and a rise of 0.1% in June 2016.

In trend terms, Australian turnover rose 2.6% in August 2016 compared with August 2015.

The following industries rose in trend terms in August 2016: Cafes restaurants and takeaway food services (0.7%), Food retailing (0.2%), Clothing, footwear and personal accessories retailing (0.5%) and Other retailing (0.2%). Household good retailing (-0.3%) and Department stores (-0.7%) fell in trend terms in August 2016.

The following state and territories rose in trend terms in August 2016: Queensland (0.4%), New South Wales (0.1%), South Australia (0.3%), the Australian Capital Territory (0.2%) and Tasmania (0.2%). Victoria was relatively unchanged (0.0%). Western Australia (-0.1%) and the Northern Territory (-0.3%) fell in trend terms in August 2016.