Buoyed by the lower cash rates imposed by the Reserve Bank since the start of 2012 and a generally robust economy, Australian households ramped up their spending in June that led to retail sales jumping by 1.4 per cent in the month.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), from below one per cent gain in May the retail sector clocked $21.58 billion in July, easily exceeding the market's forecast growth rate of 0.7 per cent.

The last time the same amount of advance was seen by retailers was in April 2011, effectively boosting the morale of retail players in Australia that have been witnessing slumps in revenues and profits since late last year.

And the sales pick-up were prevalent nationwide, with the Northern Territory leading the pack of gainers at 2.8 per cent, the ABS said, which was followed by Queensland at 1.2 per cent.

The rest of states and territories followed suit with growths ranging from 0.7 per cent to 1.0 per cent, the government agency added.

The most notable indicator for economists is the renewed interests of Aussie consumers in going out, spend some cash and kick up further growth in the domestic settings, which in the same month also saw the shrinking of the country's trade deficit.

The ABS said trade exchanges in the month had realised a surplus of $9 million, which picked up from the $313 million of deficit, seasonally adjusted, in May.

The figures were underpinned on the steady tranche of shipments that Australia had managed to push out by the end of June, leaving the export zone at flat movement while the country's import numbers shed two per cent in the whole period.

And the pull up of other economic indicators seemed to have followed as ABC reported on Thursday that the Australian dollar quickly reacted by adding bits of value shortly after the government date was unveiled before noon.

Economists were in agreement that the upswings were mostly inspired by the aggressive cutbacks imposed by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) since November last year that left the country's borrowing cost at 3.5 per cent, with more to come later this year as predicted by a number of analysts.

Already providing reprieve to borrowers and positively hoping for more, quite possibly in the last quarter of 2012, shoppers finally let loose in May and June to drive up more sales in the retail sector and to the general economy.

The ABS said department stores, grocery and food were the headliners in the month, chalking up sales swells of 3.4 per cent, 1.1 per cent and 0.9 per cent respectively.

Dining and eat outs were also hits in June with one per cent gains while apparel, footwear and accessories climbed 1.8 per cent.

Sales of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries shot up too at 1.4 per cent in the same month, the ABS said.

The only letdowns were furniture and hardware products, which in June had sales dip of 0.2 per cent, which is reflective of the careful buying habits that now dominate Australian households.

Households were now at least pitching in powering up the economy, a positive development that analysts said came as the housing sector, long-suspected as likely one of the weaker links in the web of Australian economy, showed signs of flexing some muscles.

House prices have been surging lately, The Australian reported, a boost that was coupled with rising building approvals.

The Commonwealth Bank described the last ABS figures as decent, conceding that higher retail activities last June was fuelled by the cash grants that the Labor government packed with the roll out of the carbon tax.

Shoppers were also emboldened by the RBA's 3.5 per cent benchmark rate, according to CBA analyst Michael Blythe.

"(The result) is going to put a floor under second quarter GDP growth, and an indication that economic policy still works, and that if you give cash to consumers they will go out and spend, which is what we've seen in the last couple of months," Mr Blythe told Reuters on Thursday.

But analysts noted that the latest economic figures could further convince the RBA board to sustain its current freeze on the cash rate and decide on additional rate reductions later on in the year, proving correct what economists have been harping about in the past weeks.