Australia's retail sales beat forecasts, rise 1.8% to $24.76 bn in February

Australian retail sales beat forecasts again in February as shoppers defied storms and Omicron waves to return to cafes and department stores for the second-best month ever of spending.

Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics out on Tuesday showed retail sales climbed 1.8% in February to A$33.1 billion ($24.76 billion), handily beating forecasts of a 1.0% gain.

That left sales up a huge 9.1% on February last year and came on top of a surprisingly upbeat 1.6% gain in January, suggesting household spending overall was set for a strong first quarter.

($1 = 1.3369 Australian dollars)

(Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Himani