Australia Household Spending Rebounds In May

(RTTNews) - Australia's household spending rebounded in May driven by spending on discretionary goods and services, the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported Friday.

Household spending grew 0.9 percent month-on-month in May, following a flat result in April and a 0.1 percent drop in March.

As households spent more on clothing and footwear, new vehicles, and dining out, discretionary spending advanced 1.1 percent. Meanwhile, non-discretionary spending gained 0.5 percent.

Household spending increased for seven of the nine spending categories. Of which, clothing and footwear spending showed the biggest growth of 3.7 percent. Spending on transport and miscellaneous goods and services moved up 1.7 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively.

On a yearly basis, household spending increased 4.2 percent in May after rising 3.8 percent in April. A similar faster growth was last seen in December.