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Australia’s Shops See Year-End Spending Boom as Optimism Returns

  • RBA’s Lowe said rebound in confidence was needed for recovery
  • Households to unwind crisis-level savings as outlook improves
People look at window displays at the David Jones department store in Sydney.Photographer: Lisa Maree Williams/Bloomberg
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Australia’s retailers are preparing for a late-December spending splurge that could fuel the kind of recovery on the year-end wishlist of Reserve Bank of Australia Governor Philip Lowe.

Consumer confidence rose for a fourth straight month in December, climbing to a 10-year high. Lowe said just two months ago that greater confidence was the catalyst needed to prompt households to part with the extra savings they squirreled away during the lockdown.