Retail sales rise 0.1 per cent in April, shy of expectations

Sky News Business Editor Ross Greenwood says the weakening in the economy has resulted in many families “cutting back” on spending. Retail sales rose only 0.1 per cent in April, lower than expectations of a 0.2 per cent bump. “If you look back over the past six months or so, what you can see is during that period of time, it’s pretty much averaged about 0.1 per cent growth,” Mr Greenwood said. “This is not just the fact that families are being subject to higher prices but also their actual basket sizes have been falling.”