Australia’s Stalling Retail Sales Spur Rate-Cut Bets: Economy

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Australian retail sales unexpectedly stalled in November, ending four months of gains and pushing the nation’s currency to a one-week low as traders increased bets that the central bank will cut interest rates.

Sales were little changed from a month earlier, when they rose 0.2 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The result compares with the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey of 20 economists for a 0.4 percent gain.