The Australian Bureau of Statistics released its retail sales data on Thursday. Retail sales in Australia declined 0.1% in July, missing expectations for a 0.4% gain, after a 0.6% rise in June. It was the first decline since June 2014.

June's figure was revised down from a 0.7% increase.

The decrease was partly driven by falls in sales of electrical goods and hardware. Sales of electrical goods dropped 3.3% in July, while hardware sales were down 1.4%.