2018.01.1019:45:00UTC+00Australia Retail Sales Soar In November

The total value of retail sales in Australia jumped a seasonally adjusted 1.2 percent on month in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday - coming in at A$26.377 billion.

That topped expectations for an increase of 0.4 percent following the 0.5 percent gain in October.

By category, sales were up for food retailing (0.2 percent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.4 percent), department stores (0.4 percent), and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.2. percent).

Sales were down for household goods retailing (-0.3 percent) and other retailing (-0.2 percent).

By region, sales were up in Victoria (0.3 percent), South Australia (0.4 percent), and Tasmania (0.2 percent). They were relatively unchanged in New South Wales (0.0 percent), Queensland (0.0 percent), and the Australian Capital Territory (0.0 percent).

Sales were down in Western Australia (-0.2 percent) and the Northern Territory (-0.2 percent).