Australians spent less as winter approached, cutting their clothing budgets by 5 per cent.

Retail sales figures, that the Australian Bureau of Statistics released today, showed that Department stores are having a particularly tough time.

Their takings fell by 5.2 per cent in June.

On seasonally adjusted figures, overall retail sales that month were 1 per cent lower than  they had been a month earlier.

Retail sales have been falling sharply all year.

There was better news on the trade front, though.

Australia’s exports rose by 2 per cent,on seasonally adjusted figures, in June while our import bill fell 1 per cent.

That left the nation with a $411 million dollar trade surplus for the month.

The Reserve Bank has accepted that Australia’s falling retail sales are a genuine sign that the nation’s economy is slowing.

And that, certainly, brings the next interest rate cut at least a little closer.

However, at this stage, few economists expect the Reserve Bank board to cut rates, when it meets next Tuesday to review them.