FED:Shoppers shun the malls

AAP General News (Australia)
12-02-2010
FED:Shoppers shun the malls

CANBERRA, Dec 2 AAP - Consumers appear to have shunned shops and cafes during October,
and even before the hefty rise in mortgage rates the following month, new data released
on Thursday suggests.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics said retail spending dropped 1.1 per cent in October,
compared to September, the biggest monthly drop since July 2009.

Economists' forecasts had centred on a 0.4 per cent increase in October.

In total, shoppers spent $20.2 billion in the month.

The biggest fall in the month was spending in restaurants and cafes, tumbling 4.8 per
cent, closely followed by clothing and footwear retailing, which slumped 4.6 per cent.

Department store spending fell 1.1 per cent, but food retailing rose 0.6 per cent.

Spending in the most populous states was weak, with NSW down 1.8 per cent, Victoria
off 0.8 per cent and Queensland 1.2 per cent lower.

But the biggest fall was in the Northern Territory, down 4.6 per cent.

The biggest spenders in the month were in the ACT, where retailing grew 0.6 per cent.

Demand for foreign goods in dollar terms also fell three per cent, according to the
bureau's monthly international trade data, while exports rose 1.0 per cent.

This helped to lift the nation's trade position to a seasonally-adjusted surplus of
$2.63 billion in October, compared to an upwardly-revised $1.81 billion in September.

Economists had expected a surplus of $2 billion in October.

Imports of intermediate and other merchandise goods fell five per cent in October and
consumption goods fell two per cent.

Exports were led by a 36 per cent rise in gold sales and an eight per cent increase
in rural goods.

AAP cb/rl/nb

KEYWORD: ECONOMY UPDATE

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