Australian consumers are buying once again, after months of weak spending and competitive discount.
The retail sales rose 0.5 percent in October, according to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) report released on Tuesday. The strongest figure since May and higher than the 0.3 percent predicted by most economists. September number was also revised up to 0.1 percent.
Australian retailers who have been struggling with weak sales even with relentless price discounts now have Amazon.com Inc to compete with as the global giant finally opened its doors for business this morning to seize part of the $300 billion a year retail pie.
According to the report, sales were broad-based with clothing stores and restaurants out performing, however, weak wage growth and rising household debt still remain a concern. Meaning surged in retail sales might be a temporary occurrence.
However, the Australian Retailers Association (ARA) expects Amazon arrival to reinforce business confidence in the sluggish retail sector and help local chains expand their customer base.
“With the advancement in digital technologies across the retail sector, we believe online retail sales will account for 13 per cent of total retail sales in the next five years,” said ARA’s executive director Russell Zimmerman.
Meanwhile, the Reserve Bank of Australia held interest rates unchanged at 1.5 percent on Tuesday, citing weak wage growth amid record low unemployment rate. According to RBA, while employers are finding it hard to hire workers with necessary skills, “wage growth remains low. This is likely to continue for a while yet, although the stronger conditions in the labour market should see some lift in wage growth over time.”
Australian dollar gained slightly against the US dollar after the report to $76.53c before losing more than 65 percent of its gain.
CEO/Founder Investors King Ltd, a foreign exchange research analyst, contributing author on New York-based Talk Markets and Investing.com, with over a decade experience in the global financial markets.
Naira exchanged at N482 to a United States Dollar on Monday on the parallel market, while it traded at N480 to a US Dollar at the bureau de change section of the foreign exchange market.
Daily Naira Exchange Rates; Thursday, February 25, 2021
The Nigerian Naira traded at N480 to a United States Dollar in the early hours of Thursday, February 24, 2020 at the parallel market popularly known as the black market. While the British pound was exchanged at N672 and Euro sold for N583. See the details below.
Daily Naira Exchange Rates; Wednesday, February 24, 2021
Naira remained weak against global counterparts as the local currency opened at N480 against the United States Dollar on the black market in the early morning of Wednesday, February 24, 2020.