Australian Retail Sales Fall in March

Australian retail sales fell in March, in the latest sign of an economy that is facing headwinds from a weak job market and slack wages growth.

Retail sales fell by 0.1% from a month earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday, compared with a 0.3% increase expected by economists.

Demand for food retail and household goods contributed to the fall in March.

Retail sales in the first quarter increased by just 0.1%, below the 0.5% growth expected by economists.

-Write to Mike Cherney at mike.cherney@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 08, 2017 21:51 ET (01:51 GMT)