Australia retail sales edged up a measly 0.2%
But economic growth is still disappointing.
According to BBVA, retail sales rose by 0.2% m/m sa (consensus: 0.3%) from a March decline of -0.4%. Economic growth has decelerated with the winding down of the mining boom.
"The Reserve Bank of Australia, lowered interest rates to a historic low of 2.75% in May, for a cumulative 200 bps in easing since November 2011. We expect the RBA to stay on hold at its policy meeting tomorrow, as it digests the impact of these rate cuts. Q1 GDP growth is to be released on June 5th (consensus: 2.7% y/y; prior: 3.1%)," BBVA reported.