Australian shoppers spending big for Christmas

SYDNEY, Dec. 23 (Xinhua) -- The New South Wales (NSW) government forecast of a strong Christmas trading period has been vindicated, with shoppers spending millions of dollars more per day compared to last year.

"Latest Australian Bureau of Statistics data shows the recovery in NSW retail sales continues to lead the nation - with NSW families spending an extra 12 million Australian dollars (10.5 million U.S. dollars) a day in retail sales than for the same period last year," NSW Treasurer Eric Roozendaal said in a statement on Wednesday.

"Since the worst days of the global financial crisis, NSW has seen a 10.2 percent increase in retail sales - that's 3.7 percent stronger growth than in Victoria, 6.2 percent stronger than in Queensland and 7.6 percent stronger than in Western Australia."

Roozendaal said he was confident retailers would record a busy festive season, adding that there were signs the broader economy was replicating the strong retail recovery.