澳洲新闻 (ABC新闻快递) 2015-12-23

The Retailer's Association says the falling Australian dollar has pushed customers towards the local shops during Christmas. The association says retailers¹ have reported stronger sales with the favorite present this year being gift cards. The association's chief executive Annie M. says more shoppers prefer to visit the national store. She says about 16 percent of customers buy presents online. Australian retailer's reporting growth in their website sales. So it only had a strong growth over recent years. Oh, it's grown with suspects, grown with a little bit this year. But because of the Australian dollar, the international online activity has pulled back back to be, and the growth has  predominantly been on the Australian sides. Pre-Christmas shopping is also providing a boost for the US economy. Stocks rose overnight on the release of data, showing an increasing consumer's spending. The US ecnonomy has expanded at about 2 percent in the recent quarter. Although shoppers were spending more, US data showed exporters continue to struggle with a strong US dollar. Ok, to the markets. The Dow closed nearly one percent higher overnight, the NASDAQ and S&P also made gains. In London the FTSE ended the day in poisitve territory. Checking commodity prices. WTC is traded at 36 US dollars a barrel, Tapis is 37 US dollars a barrel, and gold this morning was worth 1072 US dollars an ounce. And on currency markets. The Aussie dollar is buying 72 US cents, 65 euro cents, and 48 pence sterling². 

1 retailers   

零售商，零售店( retailer的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• High street retailers reported a marked increase in sales before Christmas. 商业街的零售商报告说圣诞节前销售量显著提高。
• Retailers have a statutory duty to provide goods suitable for their purpose. 零售商有为他们提供符合要求的货品的法定义务。

2 sterling   

adj.英币的(纯粹的，货真价实的)；n.英国货币(英镑)

参考例句：

• Could you tell me the current rate for sterling, please?能否请您告诉我现行英国货币的兑换率？
• Sterling has recently been strong,which will help to abate inflationary pressures.英国货币最近非常坚挺，这有助于减轻通胀压力。