Aussies still cautious as retail trade creeps higher
Consumer spending continues to tick higher, albeit at a sluggish pace, especially in supermarkets and grocery stores.
Retail trade rose 0.3 per cent in March for a strong annual pace of 4.3 per cent, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported on Friday.
The data implies that a Reserve Bank cash interest rate cut in February had little impact on spending in March. That cut to 4.10 per cent was the first in four years.
"Retail spending continues to grow at a steady pace, with food-related spending in supermarkets and grocery stores the main driver of growth," ABS business statistics head Robert Ewing said.
"Supermarket and grocery store sales were especially strong in Queensland, where households stockpiled essentials in anticipation of ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred."
Turnover for the month totalled $37.3 billion.
Food retailing had the largest rise in turnover, up 0.7 per cent, along with other retailing, while sales fell 0.5 per cent for cafes, restaurants and takeaway food, along with services and department stores.
Spending on clothing, footwear and accessories rose 0.3 per cent in the month.
Retail spending grew in all states in March except Queensland, which was in the midst of Alfred.
"The extreme weather early in the month led to significant disruptions for businesses and households throughout Queensland," Mr Ewing said.
"These included temporary business closures for many retailers, particularly cafes and restaurants, while people were also advised to stay home and avoid unnecessary travel."
The statistics bureau also released the producer price index, a measure of inflation for sellers of goods and services.
It rose 0.3 per cent in the March quarter to be up 3.7 per cent over the year.
The retail spending figures will play a role in the Reserve Bank's next decision on May 20 on monetary policy, AMP chief economist Shane Oliver said.
The current market consensus is for a cut of up to 25 points on the day, taking the rate to under three per cent.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Yahoo
New record in Australia's housing crisis
In a further sign of just how hard it is to break into the housing market, the value of Australia's 11.3 million homes has surpassed an insane figure. The ABS shows the national mean price of residential dwellings passed $1 million for the first time ever in the March quarter 2025 off the back of a 0.7 per cent increase in national dwelling prices. According to the Bureau of Statistics, the total value of Australian residential homes rose by $130.7bn to $11.4 trillion for the three months until March, with the average home now costing $1,002,500. At the same time, the number of houses in Australia rose by 53,400 to 11,338,500. ABS head of financial statistics Mish Tan said even though Australia's house prices surpassed the million dollar figure, there were signs the market was slowing down. 'Despite the quarterly rise in national dwelling value, annual growth in the March quarter slowed to 5.9 per cent. This was down from 9.5 per cent in March quarter 2024', Dr Tan said. Property values varied state to state, with the growth in national prices led by Western Australia, South Australia and Queensland. Queensland has now become the second most expensive state behind New South Wales. Separate research by PropTrack revealed Perth had surpassed Melbourne in terms of house prices for the first time in a decade. PropTrack senior economist Eleanor Creagh said the rise in Perth has come off the back of many years of strong performance. 'The shift reflects the turnaround in Western Australia's housing market since 2022, underpinned by a unique combination of affordability, population growth, investor demand and supply constraints,' she said. According to PropTrack, despite falling in the rankings, Melbourne had the strongest monthly rises up 0.79 per cent in May, but it is coming off a prolonged period of softer growth. 'Despite Melbourne leading monthly gains, Perth's median home value of $787,000 has overtaken Melbourne's at $782,000 for the first time in a decade,' she said. 'Just five years ago, Perth's home values were sitting at a deep discount relative to Melbourne's, with the median value of homes in Perth priced at nearly 40 per cent less.' Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data
Yahoo
7 hours ago
- Yahoo
Barclays Just Cut 200 Bankers--Here's Why Investors Are Cheering
Barclays (NYSE:BCS) is shaking up its investment bankagain. Over 200 roles are on the chopping block, mostly at the managing director level, as the firm sharpens its focus on higher-return business lines. While the headlines say cuts, the subtext is reallocation: Barclays is redirecting capital toward areas where it believes it can punch harderthink M&A, equity capital markets, and sectors like tech, health care, and energy transition. This isn't a retreat from its full-service model. Insiders suggest it's about shedding lower-yield headcount to go heavier in places with more upside. Warning! GuruFocus has detected 6 Warning Sign with BCS. The move fits squarely into CEO C.S. Venkatakrishnan's longer-term playbook. Last year, he laid out a plan to strip 2 billion in costs by 2026 and hand back 10 billion to shareholders. The investment bankstill Barclays' biggest revenue engine at 11.8 billion in 2024is being told to do more with the same capital base. That means no fresh risk-weighted assets from the parent, despite higher regulatory buffers. Instead, Barclays is betting on talent upgrades: recently tapping ex-Centerview dealmaker Andrew Woeber to lead M&A and poaching RBC's John Kolz to co-run equity capital markets. And so far? The early signals look promising. The firm has started inching back into bigger league tables, landing mandates on high-profile deals like Alphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOG) $32 billion acquisition of Wiz and Sunoco's $9.1 billion buyout of Parkland. In markets, Q1 revenues popped 16%stock trading notched its best quarter in nearly three years. Barclays shares have climbed 24% year-to-date, handily beating the FTSE 100's 8% gain. Investors could be warming up to Venkat's bet: cut costs, reload talent, and go leaner but meaner into the next earnings cycle. This article first appeared on GuruFocus. Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
10 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ex-Ohio State Coach Delivers Verdict on Arch Manning's Reported $6.5 Million NIL Valuation
Ex-Ohio State Coach Delivers Verdict on Arch Manning's Reported $6.5 Million NIL Valuation originally appeared on Athlon Sports. The NIL deals being signed by college athletes continue to climb, and in most cases, it's not about raw talent, but rather about players with high visibility who have built up a brand. Advertisement One such example is Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Manning, who hasn't yet made a significant impact on the field, but with his family's pedigree, everyone already knows his name and expects a lot from this 21-year-old. During a recent episode of the "Bobby Carpenter Show," Anthony Schlegel, who has had two stints with the Ohio State Buckeyes, his alma mater, as an assistant strength and conditioning coach, predicted Manning would have to lead the nation in NIL valuations. "People that were returning that would require the dollar amount, Arch Manning would be that guy," said Carpenter as he was trying to recall the best players in the sport. Schlegel and Carpenter were reviewing a top 10 list of college football players and discussing how Manning was ranked at No. 1 with a $6.5 million valuation. Carpenter, another Ohio State alumnus who played for the Buckeyes from 2002 to 2005, pointed out Manning's NIL total comes from endorsements only, not from Texas' boosters. Advertisement Top 10 On3 NIL Valuation Rankings (Note: This list features only college football players.) Texas QB Arch Manning: $6.6 million Miami QB Carson Beck: $4.3 million Ohio State WR Jeremiah Smith: $4 million LSU QB Garrett Nussmeier: $3.7 million South Carolina QB LaNorris Sellers: $3.7 million Florida QB DJ Lagway: $3.7 million Clemson QB Cade Klubnik: $3.3 million Penn State QB Drew Allar: $3.1 million Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt: $3 million Michigan QB Bryce Underwood: $2.9 million Manning has established partnerships with Red Bull, Panini America, Uber and EA Sports. Texas Longhorns quarterback Arch Diggins / Austin American-Statesman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images In April, Manning and clothing brand Vuori agreed to a deal that sent his valuation to its current estimate. Texas is projected to have spent somewhere between $35 and $40 million on NIL deals, according to Kirk Bohls of the Houston Chronicle. In his report, Bohls quoted a source that believes these years of big spending won't last, even among the nation's best programs. 'It's just unsustainable,' the source said via Bohls. 'The next season after this year, the whole world will be back to reality.' Advertisement Texas begins its 2025 college football season against the Ohio State Buckeyes on Aug. 30, in what will be a College Football Playoff rematch from last season. OSU beat Texas in the CFP semifinal, 28-14. Related: Steve Sarkisian Drops Hilarious Four-Word Reaction to His EA Sports College Football 26 Character Related: Joel Klatt Reveals What Steve Sarkisian Needs to Do to Maximize Arch Manning's Potential This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jun 3, 2025, where it first appeared.
