AN UNEXPECTEDLY large fall in retail sales and lower-than-expected building approvals could see the Reserve Bank hold interest rates steady next week, economists say.
Retail trade fell 1.4 per cent in February to $19.8 billion, from a downwardly revised $20.1 billion a month before, data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today shows.
It was far below the market forecast for a 0.3 per cent rise in sales in the month.
Meanwhile, building approvals fell 3.3 per cent to 13,929 units in February, seasonally adjusted, from an upwardly revised 14,405 units in January, the ABS said.
In the year to January, building approvals were up 34.2 per cent.
The median market forecast was for building approvals to have risen 2.1 per cent in the month.