According to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics, retail sales rose by 7.1% in November, against the previous month's 7% climb and higher than expectations of 7%. The rise was mainly driven by the increase in sales in the State of Victoria.
Australia appears to be keeping its coronavirus situation under control, with 28,595 total cases and 909 deaths so far. The vaccination campaign is expected to begin next month, as the government has secured about 10 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine and 53.8 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine.
Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly said that most Australians will get Oxford-AstraZeneca's vaccine, given the logistics required by Pfizer's vaccine distribution.
"We know that the Pfizer vaccine is the one that will have the most experience around the world, it was the first to get the emergency use authorization in the US, UK, and other places," Kelly commented. "But it is being made overseas. There is a limited supply that we will be getting of the Pfizer vaccine.”
By 7:53 GMT, the Australian dollar dropped by 0.71 percent against the US dollar, falling to the 0.7704 level.
China's CPI Rises
The National Bureau of Statistics of China reported that the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for November rose by 0.7% (month-on-month), over forecasts of 0.4% and after dropping by 0.6% in November.
In yearly terms, the CPI rose by 0.2%, higher than expectations of 0.1% and after falling by 0.5% in the previous month. The Producer Price Index was higher than expected with a reading of -0.4%, while analysts had forecast a 0.4% decline, and was also higher than the previous month's 1.5% drop.