Australian retail sales fell unexpectedly in February as coronavirus lockdowns in Victoria and Western Australia shut shops and took some steam out of an otherwise strongly expanding economy.
Sales fell 1.1% in February, from January, missing market forecasts for a 0.4% gain, preliminary data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed on Friday.
Sales of A$30.2 billion ($23.38 billion) were still up a hefty 8.7% on February last year, just before the pandemic hit.
In Victoria, sales fell 4% and in Western Australia they fell 6%, as trade was restricted for five days in each state.
Retail activity has been wildly volatile in recent months amid lockdowns and massively popular online sale events, with spending surging 7.1% in November only to dive 4.1% in December.
The pandemic has also confounded the usual seasonal adjustment pattern and exaggerated moves in both directions.
The ABS will release the final estimate for February sales on April 1.
($1 = 1.2918 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Sam Holmes)
.png?w=600)
