2023.01.3023:44:00UTC+00Australia Retail Sales Slip 3.9% In December

The value of retail sales in Australia was down a seasonally adjusted 3.9 percent on month in December, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday - coming in at A$34.472 billion.

That missed expectations for a decline of 0.3 percent following the 1.4 percent increase in November.

By category, department store sales were down 14.3 percent on month, while clothing sales fell 13.1 percent, household goods sank 7.8 percent, other retailing fell 4.6 percent and food retailing rose 0.3 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales climbed 7.5 percent.