Retail spending up 1.3pc in February RETAIL sales rose much more strongly than expected in February, in the latest sign that a yearlong string of interest-rate cuts are boosting consumer sentiment and spending. Retail sales rose 1.3 per cent in February from a month earlier, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said today, compared with a 0.3 per cent rise expected by economists. Sales for January were upwardly revised to 1.2 per cent from 0.9 per cent when the figures were first released. Sales had fallen in the previous three months. The dollar rose to $US1.0489 shortly after the data was published at 11.30am AEDT, from $US1.046 shortly beforehand. Separately, the ABS said building approvals were up 3.1 per cent in the month, beating economists' forecasts of a 2.5 per cent improvement. Australia's central bank has cut rates six times since November 2011, seeking to stoke domestic sectors of the economy such as retail sales, as a mining boom that has powered growth for over a decade slows. The Reserve Bank of Australia this week left interest rates unchanged for the third-straight month, signalling confidence that the most rate-sensitive parts of the economy are responding to the cuts. The last rate cut, in December, took the benchmark target to 3 per cent, a low previously reached in the aftermath of the global financial crisis.