Australia: Retail Sales Better Than Expected

Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics this morning showed that the retail sales index posted better-than-market expectations, rising by 4.1% in July compared to 3.3 in June.

This indicator is a measure of consumer spending, which represents the majority of economic activity in general and affects the stock and bond markets. For stock markets, strong economic growth reflects improved corporate earnings and higher stocks. For bonds, the focus is whether economic growth improves to a degree that leads to inflation or not.