Car sales in Australia dropped 3.5% in July, as new figures show more than 93,000 people are zooming along in their new wheels.
Australian Bureau of Statistics figures show fewer people bought cars in July, compared to June, with the biggest declines in sales coming from the Australian Capital Territory, Queensland and New South Wales.
The only state to increase its number of car sales was the Northern Territory, with 8.6% more people buying a car in July.
The highest number of sales came from New South Wales, where 28,998 cars were sold, seasonally adjusted.
While the figures are down from last month, overall sales increased 3% from this time last year.
Bendigo and Adelaide bank profit rises 80%
Bendigo and Adelaide bank has recorded a 7.7% increase in cash profit to $348 million, the company announced this morning.
Full-year net profit increased by 80.7% to $352.3 million. A final dividend worth 31 cents on September 30, the company said.
Managing director Mike Hirst said in a statement the bank had given a positive result in spite of downbeat trading conditions.
“Our industry-leading retail and business customer satisfaction levels and the maintenance of an efficient business model becomes even more important in this environment.”
Shares unchanged on open
Aussie shares have opened flat this morning, despite analyst predicting they market would open on a negative note after the United States markets closed lower on Friday.
The S&P/ASX 200 benchmark remained unchanged at 5113.9, just before midday.
Consumer staples were trading well, up 161.8 points to 9,857.5, as was the health care sector, up 203.1 points to 13,418.9.
