June 25, 2026 03:20 AM GMT Australia Macro+ Data Pulse | Asia Pacific M Update Event Driven Rebound In Household Spending For May Key Takeaways Exhibit 2: Household spending rose 1.3%M in May, reversing weakness seen in April -10 -5 0 5 10 15 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026 HSI - %M (lhs) HSI - %Y (rhs) % % Source: ABS, Morgan Stanley Research Exhibit 3: Across categories, all nine spending categories lifted in the month -2 0 2 4 6 8 10 Food Alcohol & Tobacco Apparel Household goods Health ...

Flash | Australia Retail Retail sales surprise to the upside again in May CITI'S TAKE ABS retail categories grew by 5.7% YoY in May (April: +4.8% YoY). Food grew strongly (+4.3%) while the decline in Alcohol & Tobacco of ~4% was far more moderate than recent months, consistent with market feedback of some stabilsation in tobacco. Despite low consumer confidence, growth in discretionary categories was strong again. Household goods (+6.4% YoY) and Clothing & Footwear (+7.2% YoY) stood out. We think the streng ...