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CANBERRA - November's interest rate rise is expected to result in soft retail spending figures out today.
Economists expect sales to have risen by only 0.3 per cent for November in the Australian Bureau of Statistics data to be released this morning.
Retail spending recorded a better-than-expected jump in October, climbing 0.8 per cent to $18.4 billion on the back of falling petrol prices.
But analysts widely expect much lower figures for November after the Reserve Bank of Australia hiked rates by a quarter of a percentage point at the start of that month - its third increase for the year.
Despite the anticipated slowdown for November, Westpac senior economist Justin Smirk said there was still broader strength in the retail sector.
"In a general sense, we expect consumption to cool because of the higher rates, but we did see consumer sentiment bounce back in December and it does suggest to us that we're not going to see a fall away in spending," he said.
Economists are divided on whether the RBA will need to lift rates again, but the outlook will become clearer when fourth quarter inflation data is released on January 24.
- AAP
