The total value of retail sales in Australia added a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent on month in November, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said on Friday - standing at A$24.774 billion.
That was in line with forecasts following the upwardly revised 0.6 percent increase in October (originally 0.5 percent).
Among the individual components, food retailing was up 0.3 percent, along with household goods retailing (0.6 percent), other retailing (0.4 percent), department stores (0.6 percent), cafes, restaurants and takeaway food services (0.2 percent) and clothing, footwear and personal accessory retailing (0.2 percent).
By region, sales in Victoria were up 0.6 percent, along with New South Wales (0.4 percent), Queensland (0.2 percent), Western Australia (0.2 percent), South Australia (0.3 percent), Tasmania (0.5 percent), the Australian Capital Territory (0.2 percent) and the Northern Territory (0.2 percent).
Also on Friday, the latest survey from the Australian Industry Group showed that the construction sector in Australia swung to contraction in December with a PMI score of 46.8.
That's down sharply from 50.7 in November, and it falls beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction for the first time in five months.
Among the individual components of the survey, activity, commercial, engineering, new orders and selling prices all contracted.
Apartments, houses, employment, deliveries, input prices and wages were in expansion.
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