SYDNEY, July 3 (Reuters) - Australian retail sales proved surprisingly strong in May as discounting and early sales events tempted consumers who were otherwise struggling with stubborn inflation and painfully-high mortgage rates.
Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday showed retail sales rose 0.6% in May from April, when they edged up 0.1%. Analysts had looked for a rise of 0.2%.
Sales of A$35.9 billion ($23.9 billion) were up 1.7% from a year earlier, still well below annual population growth of a brisk 2.5%. (Reporting by Wayne Cole; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
