Australia’s March Retail Sales Gain Driven by Food Inflation
- Food retailing has posted 13 straight monthly gains on prices
- Non-food retailing has weakened amid rising borrowing costs
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Australian retail sales rose for a third straight month in March, driven primarily by food inflation, as household spending begins to cool under the weight of the Reserve Bank’s aggressive interest-rate increases.
Sales advanced 0.4% from a month earlier, double economists’ forecasts, official data showed Wednesday. Every category outside of food and dining out reported a decline.