Retail spending increased more sharply than expected in February thanks to a surge in spending on basic necessities in supermarkets and department stores.
Retail trade rose by 0.5 per cent in February to $27.8 billion, seasonally adjusted, according to figures released Friday by the Australian Bureau of Statistics.
Preliminary retail figures released two weeks ago suggested shoppers frantically buying toilet paper, rice, pasta and other goods due to coronavirus fears would result in a 0.4 per cent rise for the month.
The February rise follows an unrevised fall of 0.3 per cent in January, which was weighed down by people staying indoors because of the smoke from the devastating bushfire that hit eastern Australia throughout the summer.
January was also the nation’s first back-to-back monthly retail decline since August 2017.
The latest figures were boosted by a 3.1 per cent rise in department store spending, a 0.8 per cent rise in food retailing, and a 0.7 per cent rise in household goods, but were weighed down by a 2.9 per cent fall in the clothing and footwear sector.
The Australian dollar fell to 60.48 US cents at 1141 AEDT, from 60.55 US cents just before the data was released at 1130 AEDT.