Credit: REUTERS/LOREN ELLIOTTSYDNEY, Aug 4 (Reuters) - Australian retail sales jumped 2.7% in June as shops, restaurants and pubs fully re-opened across large parts of the country, though the outlook was clouded by a second wave of coronavirus infections in the state of Victoria.
Sales adjusted for inflation, however, slipped 3.4% in the June quarter, Tuesday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed, the biggest drop since the introduction of the goods and services tax (GST) in 2000.
Consumer spending is expected to deteriorate further with Victoria declaring a "state of disaster" after a surge in coronavirus infections since late June.
(Reporting by Swati Pandey; Editing by Christian Schmollinger)
((swati.pandey@thomsonreuters.com; +61 2 9321 8166; Reuters Messaging: twitter.com/swatisays))
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