Pedestrians walk past a clothing store advertising a sale in central Sydney April 4, 2013. Australian retail sales surged 1.3 percent in February, far above expectations and the biggest rise in over three years, the clearest sign yet that consumer demand is responding to lower interest rates. Thursday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics seemed to justify the Reserve Bank of Australia's (RBA) confidence that past rate cuts are working to fuel demand in the economy, and investors immediately responded by further lengthening the odds of any further easing this year. REUTERS/David Gray (AUSTRALIA - Tags: BUSINESS)