There is plenty coming up from Australia today, the May trade balance and retail sales the focus

Earlier previews:

This now for retail sales via Westpac, bolding is mine:

  • Retail sales recorded a 0.4% lift in April, better than the flat March result and following a patchy period through Dec-Feb. Annual sales growth slipped to 2.6%yr from 3.2%yr.
  • Indicators are a bit softer for May. The mild consumer optimism at the start of the year continued to fade, the detail showing ongoing pressure on finances. Slowing job gains will be impacting aggregate incomes. Private business surveys have been mixed. Price discounting likely remains a significant drag on the dollar value of sales. Overall, we expect May to show a 0.3% gain.
  • Looking forward, price discounting may ease a touch with the new GST on low value imported goods from July 1, affecting the pricing and availability of offshore based online retailers. However, the housing slowdown is likely to have some dampening impact on spending as well.