Retail turnover returns to growth: ABS

The news: Australia's retail turnover lifted 0.5% in July, beating forecasts and partially recovering after June's 0.8% drop, which followed soft end-of-financial-year sales results.

The numbers: New ABS data shows department stores recorded the largest rise in turnover at 3.6%, followed by clothing and personal accessories (2%). Household goods retailing fell 0.2%, the eighth monthly fall in the past 12 months. In terms of trend, retail turnover was unchanged despite rising prices, and up 1.9% (2.1% seasonally adjusted) compared to the previous July.

The context: Retail has been suffering in recent months due to high-interest, high-inflation conditions eroding consumer purchasing power. Food retailing has been relatively resilient, and there is some optimism for broader retail ahead, as price growth starts to ease and the migration intake increases.