Retail sales in Australia grew at half the pace expected in August, while building approvals recovered slightly off the back of a steep fall.
Bureau of Statistics figures show retail turnover rose 0.2% in August, but that followed a fall of 0.8% in July.
Economists had generally expected retail sales to bounce back from July's slump with a stronger 0.4% rise.
Department stores posted the biggest rise in retail sales in August, but that failed to offset heavy declines in previous months.
