Citi economists note:

  • Retail sales for August was weaker than expected
  • Without the 0.3% gain in food, would have been down 0.1%
  • Say their own retail analysts point to anecdotes of soft activity continuing through September
  • Say unemployment expectations remaining high, which makes a pick-up in consumer spending unlikely
  • The economic rebalancing remains delicate, still requires accommodative policy
  • They look for no change in RBA policy language next week