Australians pull back on retail spending as case for holding interest rate grows

Victoria, NSW and Queensland, which make up about two-thirds of the Australian economy, all saw retail spending fall last month. The RBA’s next decision on interest rates comes on Tuesday. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP

Australian shoppers trimmed their spending in June amid a cost-of-living squeeze, adding to the case for the Reserve Bank to extend its interest rate pause for another month.

Retail turnover fell 0.8% last month, erasing a monthly increase of that amount in May, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday. Economists had expected spending to be unchanged for the month.