CANBERRA, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- Australian household spending was 6.8 percent higher in August than a year earlier, while remaining unchanged from July, official statistics showed on Tuesday.
Household spending rose 1.1 percent in July and 0.9 percent in June, both from the previous month, according to data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS).
Recreation and culture spending fell 1.4 percent in August after months of higher spending associated with major sporting events, ABS head of business statistics Tom Lay said in a statement.
Spending on clothing and footwear, recreational goods, food, health and furniture also declined, Lay said.
These falls were offset by a 2.3 percent increase in transport spending, driven by higher fuel spending and new vehicle sales, particularly electric vehicles, as households responded to rising fuel prices, he added.
Fuel spending rose 8.1 percent in August after the full restoration of fuel excise duty on Aug. 3, following temporary relief introduced by the federal government in April, according to the ABS.
Excluding fuel spending, total household spending would have fallen by 0.3 percent in August, the ABS said.
Experimental data showed the volume of fuel spending fell 0.5 percent in August, following a 4.6-percent decline in July, it added. ■