Australia retail sales in Nov jump 2% on Black Friday boom

SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian retail sales surged in November as shoppers feasted on Black Friday bargains, though analysts suspect spending was merely borrowed from the future and the gains will reverse in December.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) out on Tuesday showed retail sales jumped 2.0% on a seasonally adjusted basis in November, rebounding from a revised 0.4% dip in October and above market forecasts of a 1.2% increase.

Sales of A$36.51 billion ($24.54 billion) were up 2.2% from a year earlier, which was a sluggish result historically especially given the country’s rapid population growth.

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