Australia December retail sales -3.9% m/m (expected -0.3%)

Australia December retail sales -3.9% m/m - a huge miss but there were warnings

• expected -0.3%, prior +1.4% (November benefitted from Black Friday sales)
• the -3.9% m/m is the first fall after 11 consecutive months of rises
• apart from the pandemic and the introduction of sales tax (GST) this is the worst month ever

The Australian Bureau of Statistics notes a pull-forward of activity to the Black Friday sales:

• “The large fall in December suggests that retail spending is slowing due to high cost-of-living pressures. Retail businesses reported that many consumers had responded to these pressures by doing more Christmas shopping in November to take advantage of heavy promotional activity and discounting as part of the Black Friday sales event.”

AUD dipped on the data release, just a few tics.

Credit data is on the weaker side also:

• Australian December Private Sector Credit 0.3% m/m (expected 0.5%)