Australian retail sales surged in August, setting the stage for a rise in interest rates by the Reserve Bank of
Retail sales rose a higher-than-expected 0.9% to a seasonally adjusted $19.81bn in August, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said.
Economists surveyed ahead of the announcement had on average expected a 0.5% rise in sales for August. A 2.4% lift in department store sales bolstered the result.