You know how we hate meaningless statistics on this page, but is a positive trend emerging in retail sales?
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show retail sales rose 0.8% in July. In August they were up 0.6% and in September 0.4%. Economists say the annual rate of retail sales growth is still weak at 2.3%, but 3 months of expanding sales is a promising trend. Add in the Reserve Bank interest rate cut this week and we have another positive indicator.
After the last 18 months of retailing, we could be more confident making diamonds out of cow dung than claiming we have turned the corner in retail sales, but perhaps keeping all fingers and toes firmly crossed will help.