Source: Bloomsberg Business Week

Story By: Michael Heath

Australian retail sales unexpectedly fell in March for the first time in five months, weakening the currency and shares of some of the nation’s biggest stores.

Sales declined 0.5 percent from a month earlier, when they increased a revised 0.8 percent, the Bureau of Statistics said in Sydney today. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of 21 economists was for a 0.5 percent gain, and none saw a drop.

The report led some economists to cut their forecasts for first-quarter growth. Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Glenn Stevens has paused raising interest rates for the past five meetings to help Queensland state recover from damage to properties, mines and crops from floods and a cyclone.

To read the full story, follow this link: www.businessweek.com/news/2011-05-04/australia-s-retail-sales-decline-sending-currency-lower.html