Australia March retail sales boosted by pre-lock down buying: +8.5% m/m

March and Q1 retail sales

• March +8.5% m/m vs. +8.0% expected and +0.5% in February
• Q1 retail sales excluding inflation +0.7% q/q vs. +1.8% expected and +0.5% prior

At the same time home loan data +0.2% m/m in March

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Background to this:

• Australian March and Q1 retail sales due soon - preview