* Dec retail sales tumble 0.4 pct vs -0.1 pct consensus
* Q4 retail up 0.1 vs +0.4 pct consensus
* Data miss adds to talks RBA may be forced to cut rates this year (Adds economist comment, trade data & policy context)
By Swati Pandey
SYDNEY, Feb 5 (Reuters) - Australian retail sales slumped in December, capping a lousy quarter of disappointing data in yet another blow for the country's economic outlook and bolstering expectations the next move in policy rates would be down.
Tuesday's figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed retail sales fell 0.4 percent in December, the worst monthly outcome in a year.
That compares with expectations for a 0.1 percent decline and an upwardly revised 0.5 percent gain in November thanks to by Black Friday promotions.
Tuesday's dismal figures emboldened rate doves and sent the local dollar AUD=D3 below crucial chart support of $0.7200. The Aussie was last fetching 0.7195, a level not seen since Jan.30.
For the fourth quarter as a whole, sales were up a mere 0.1 percent in inflation-adjusted terms, and followed a very sedate 0.2 percent gain the previous quarter.
December's pullback, in part, reflected the impact of discount sales in November which brought spending forward. Even so, the data pointed to "disappointing momentum heading into 2019," Westpac economist Matthew Hassan said in a note.
Consumer spending has been under pressure from record-high household debt and sluggish wage growth, one reason some investors believe the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) could now consider cutting interest rates from an all-time low of 1.50 percent.
Sarah Hunter, economist at BIS Oxford Economics, said Tuesday's miss added to downside risks for December quarter economic growth given household spending accounts for around 57 percent of gross domestic product (GDP).
"Households are being forced to curb growth in spending as a result of weak income growth, and confidence appears to have taken a battering from heightened volatility in financial markets and falling house prices," Hunter said.
"We expect momentum in household spending to remain subdued this year, with wages growth not expected to accelerate until 2020, and this will pull GDP growth down to around 2.5 percent this year and next."
That goes against the RBA's optimistic view for GDP to expand a little above 3 percent this year.
EASY POLICY?
Australia's A$1.8 trillion economy expanded a slower-than-expected 2.8 percent in the third-quarter with private consumption one of the biggest drags. December-quarter data is due early March. global growth slowing and a year-long downturn in domestic house prices pointing to a further loss in economic momentum, calls from some analysts for the RBA to ease policy has intensified recently. markets 0#YIB: imply around a 50-50 chance of a cut by the end of the year, a remarkable turnaround from just a couple of months ago when investors were positioned for a rate hike.
Later on Tuesday, the RBA board meets for the first time this year and is all but certain to leave policy unchanged again. data out on Tuesday showed Australia's trade surplus widened by more than expected to A$3.7 billion when economists had forecast a A$2.3 billion windfall.
Still, exports are likely to have made a broadly neutral contribution to fourth-quarter GDP growth, Westpac said.
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https://tmsnrt.rs/2Bd3vfU
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