Expectations for this were low … but not low enough
Ugly at -0.4% m/m
- expected 0.0% m/m
- prior 0.5%, revised up from 0.4%
A huge miss. A bit like Santa, down the chimney in December.
In addition to the monthly result, the result for Q4 - retail sales excl inflation is +0.1% q/q
- expected 0.5%, prior 0.2%
OK … that December result. One of the issues the RBA has been quietly sweating about is the rapid decline in house prices and, importantly, how this might transmit into consumer spending. Well, the results here are not encouraging. Perhaps it'll cause the RBA to pay a bit more attention to the data flow. I've been banging on about their complacency, asleep at the wheel etc. If a positive can come out this data it'll be a bit more questioning of their their beliefs around the RBA boardroom table.
