Australia AiG Performance of Services Index dropped -3.8 pts to 56.2 in March. Sales dropped sharply by -14.9 to 53.7. Employment dropped -0.3 to 54.4. But new orders rose 2.4 to 63.5. Input prices jumped 11.5 to 77.5. Selling prices also rose 4.2 to 64.5. Average wages surged 11.8 to 67.7.
Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group, said: “Australia’s services sector continued its positive run in March although the pace of growth slowed in the face of intensifying input price pressures, difficulties in finding staff and further wage pressures.”
Eurozone retail sales rose 0.3% mom in Feb, EU up 0.3% mom
Eurozone retail sales rose 0.3% mom in February, below expectation of 0.6% mom. Volume of retail trade increased by 3.2% for automotive fuels, and by 0.8% for non-food products, while it fell by 0.5% for food, drinks and tobacco.
EU retail sales also rose 0.3% mom. Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Slovenia (+8.0%), the Netherlands (+4.0%) and Portugal (+2.3%). The largest decreases were observed in Belgium (-1.8%), Estonia (-1.7%), and Poland (-1.6%).
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