Australian online retail spending rises

Australia's online retail spending rose 0.3 percent in September, compared with a 0.1 percent fall in August, seasonally adjusted figures from National Australia Bank ( NAB)'s online retail sales index showed on Thursday. Online sales rose to 14.3 billion AU dollars (13.6 billion U.S. dollars) in the year to September, a level that is equivalent to 6. 3 percent of the traditional retail spending in the country. In year-on-year terms, the rates of growth for online sales edged up to 10.7 percent, from 9.1 percent in August, the slowest rate of growth observed in the index, the bank said. The gains were in the media category, food, department and variety stores, as well as the fashion sector. The Australian Bureau of Statistics is expected to release official retail spending figures for September on Monday.