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