The Australian economy is still nursing some soft spots as the latest retails sales data suggested that consumers remain wary of spending their hard-earned money.

According the to the new retail figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Thursday, retail trade at current prices inched up by 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted $20.509 billion in September, coming from the downward revised $20.456 billion posted in the previous month.

For the three months leading to September 30, retails sales improved a bit by 0.7 percent to $60.156 billion in seasonally adjusted volume terms while the median market forecast for the same segment rose by 0.5 percent in the month and 1.0 percent in the quarter.

Such figures pointed to a somewhat wobbling economy, according to economists, as CommSec chief economist Craig James offered that the weak retail numbers plus the dwindling building approvals published this week could influence the next rate decision to be handed down by the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) in December.

Mr James said that the new retail numbers run in conflict with RBA's assertion that the economy has become robust and heads towards expansion, effectively giving the central bank authorities something to ponder on in considering future rate hikes by next year.

He said that the firm quarterly figures watered down consumers' confidence to splurge as if there would be no tomorrow, stressing that the November cash rate lift decided by he RBA was certainly not prompted by spirited consumer spending.

Economists said that despite the bevy of choices in shopping and with plunging prices of imported good due to the gathering strength of the Aussie dollar, consumers still hunt for the bargain snatch as the Christmas shopping season approaches.

The ABS said that Australia booked a seasonally adjusted balance of goods and services surplus of $1.760 billion in September as compared to the upwardly revised surplus of $2.446 billion posted in August.

The September result fell short of the median market surplus forecast of $2.0 billion for the month as Australian exports declined by 2.0 percent in the adjusted terms during the same month while the country's imports moved up a bit by 1.0 percent.