5 Mar 2015

Business Briefs

2:56 pm on 5 March 2015

Airline passenger demand up

Airline passenger demand for January is up 4.6 percent on the same month last year.

The International Air Transport Association said the results may be affected by the timing of the Lunar New Year in Asia being a month later.

It said it is noticing healthy, but slightly slower growth in demand for airline services.

Eurozone retail sales jump

Retail sales in the eurozone jumped in January, notching the fourth consecutive monthly rise.

Official figures show sales rose 1.1 percent from December, while rising 3.7 percent from January last year.

It is the biggest monthly rise since May 2013, and the highest annual jump since August 2005.

Spending on fuel helped drive the increase.

Australia's economy rises in December quarter

Australia's economy has risen a seasonally adjusted 0.5 percent in the December quarter, taking the annual rate of growth in 2014 to 2.5 percent.

That's in line with the Reserve Bank of Australia's recent statement of monetary policy.

The data follows the central bank's decision to leave interest rates unchanged at a record low of 2.25 percent.