Every man, woman and their dog was blown away with the massive 1.2 per cent rise in Australian retail sales in November. It was enough to spark a sell-off in the bond market and a jump in the Aussie dollar.

The ABS noted in the release that the surge was influenced by the release of the iPhoneX which at around $1,500 a pop, was a big enough issue to mention.

Of course, the iPhoneX was released around the world at the same time in November which prompted me to have a look at the retail sales results in other parts of the world – to see if the iPhone effect was important elsewhere or just confined to Australia.

And guess what?

Retail sales in November were unexpectedly strong everywhere that matters, and by a large margin and the bulk of the result was driven by a surge in sales of electronic goods.

Have a look at the actual retail sales in November versus expectations:

US 0.8%            versus 0.3% expected: Difference 0.5%
UK 1.1%            versus 0.4% expected: Difference 0.7%
Canada 1.5%     versus 0.3% expected: Difference 1.2%
Eurozone 1.5% versus 1.3% expected: Difference 0.2%
Japan 1.9%       versus 0.7% expected: Difference 1.2%

Average difference 0.8%

Which puts Australia’s result in context

Australia 1.2% versus 0.4% expected: Difference 0.8%

What do you know?

US retail sales are out Friday – will there be a snap back? All eyes will be watching as it could be the lead for the global economy and markets.