Australian Retailers Enjoy Strong Consumer Spending as Record Low Interest Rates Boost Economy

“Australia’s A$249 billion ($258 billion) retail industry will see its best-ever month of sales in December as the cutting of interest rates to record lows revives flagging consumer sentiment, an industry group said.

Sales on Boxing Day, a public holiday that’s traditionally one of the busiest in the country’s retail calendar, will rise 2.5 percent from a year earlier to A$1.8 billion, according to a forecast from the Australian National Retailers’ Association, or ANRA. Sales during December, the busiest shopping month of the year, may total A$28.4 billion, the group said in an e-mail on Dec. 21…”

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