Retail continues to fall into the category of weaker performing sectors, according to the National Australia Bank quarterly business survey for September.
At the same time, with the exception of recreation & personal services, businesses conditions deteriorated across all industries in the September quarter, with the conditions remaining weak for retail.
The NAB indicates that the retail sector experienced weaker product price inflation to a more subdued annualised rate of 0.9 per cent.
“Retail prices were even more subdued, recording zero growth in the quarter, after growth of 0.3 per cent at an annualised rate in the previous quarter, reflecting the current weakness in the retail sector and persistent cautiousness of consumers, which continues to weigh on domestic demand,” the NAB said.
“While a little softer than underlying CPI in the June quarter, the trend in the quarterly NAB retail price series remains fairly consistent with official underlying inflation data.”