Australia retail sales soar in November

Sales soar: A pedestrian walks past a store in Sydney. Australia’s overall sales grew 13.3% in November from a year ago, the strongest result since July 2001. — Bloomberg

SYDNEY: Australian retail sales jumped 7.1% in November as shoppers were lured by pre-Christmas sales with the second-most populous state of Victoria emerging out of a lengthy lockdown in a positive omen for the country’s economy.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed retail sales in Victoria rose 22.4% from October as Melbourne retail stores were able to trade for a full month. Excluding Victoria, turnover rose 2.6%.