SYDNEY, Feb 28 (Reuters) - Australian retail sales
bounced strongly in January after a surprise plunge in December
that owed much to changing spending habits and online sale
events, suggesting consumption as a whole was holding up.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on
Tuesday showed retail sales rose 1.9% in January from December,
when they dived 4.0%. Sales of A$35.1 billion ($23.67
billion)were 7.5% higher than a year earlier.
That topped median forecasts of a rise of 1.5%, while
analyst uncertainty about the outcome was illustrated by the
fact estimates ranged from -3.7% to +5.0%.
($1 = 1.4830 Australian dollars)
(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
Messaging: wayne.cole.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))
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