UPDATE 1-Australia's Harvey Norman 4-month sales up 6.4 pct

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MELBOURNE, May 13 (Reuters) - Australian electrical goods and furniture retailer Harvey Norman Holdings Ltd (HVN.AX: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said on Tuesday total sales for the four months to April 30 rose 6.4 percent as consumers eased back on big-ticket purchases.

Same-store sales rose 2.5 percent in the four months, down sharply from growth of 7.9 percent in the second quarter as consumers became more frugal under the weight of rising mortgage payments and higher food and petrol prices.

Goldman Sachs JB Were had forecast like-for-like sales growth of 4.0 percent and ABN AMRO forecast 2.1 percent.

Sales included Harvey Norman's franchised stores in Australia, New Zealand, Slovenia and Ireland. It has about 190 stores in Australia.

The company reported a four-month period to smooth the timing shift of Easter this year from April to March.

For the 10 months to April 30, total sales rose 10.1 percent and same-store sales rose 5.2 percent.

Retailers' shares have come under heavy selling pressure this year as economists forecast a slowdown in spending, and government figures for March showed an across-the-board softening in consumption.

Shares in Harvey Norman have slumped 47 percent this year on worries about a slide in consumer spending, in line with declines in other discretionary retailers.

The shares were up 1.4 percent at A$3.64 by 0106 GMT in a flat overall market. ($1=A$1.06) (Reporting by Victoria Thieberger)