Australian Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall as Rates Take Toll
- Consumers may also be pausing ahead of Black Friday, ABS says
- RBA resumed raising rates this month after four-meeting pause
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Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell in October, in a sign that the Reserve Bank’s aggressive interest-rate increases are beginning to weigh on households.
Sales dropped 0.2% from a month earlier, compared with estimates for a 0.1% rise, Australian Bureau of Statistics data showed Tuesday. The result was the weakest since June, when sales also swung negative.