Weak decline in retail sales

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The seasonally-adjusted volume index of retail sales decreased 0.2 per cent from September to October 2018. This follows a decrease of 0.6 per cent from August to September 2018.

The long-term trend in the retail sales has increased by 3.2 per cent since its turning point in May 2016, however the trend has been slightly negative in the last few months.

Figure 1. Retail sales volume index, seasonally adjusted and trend. 2015=100

Retail trade, except sales of motor vehicles seasonally adjusted Retail trade, except sales of motor vehicles trend
Jan. 2012 96.5 96.2
Feb. 2012 96.3 96.4
Mar. 2012 97.1 96.7
Apr. 2012 96.5 96.9
May. 2012 98.2 97.1
June 2012 96.8 97.2
July 2012 97.2 97.2
Aug. 2012 97.1 97.3
Sep. 2012 97.7 97.3
Oct. 2012 97.0 97.4
Nov. 2012 97.3 97.6
Dec. 2012 97.6 97.9
Jan. 2013 99.5 98.2
Feb. 2013 98.9 98.4
Mar. 2013 98.6 98.6
Apr. 2013 97.4 98.6
May. 2013 99.9 98.7
June 2013 99.1 98.7
July 2013 98.4 98.7
Aug. 2013 98.7 98.7
Sep. 2013 99.1 98.6
Oct. 2013 98.2 98.6
Nov. 2013 98.4 98.7
Dec. 2013 98.8 98.8
Jan. 2014 98.9 99.1
Feb. 2014 99.5 99.4
Mar. 2014 100.1 99.7
Apr. 2014 100.9 100.0
May. 2014 99.7 100.1
June 2014 100.8 100.2
July 2014 99.0 100.2
Aug. 2014 99.8 100.2
Sep. 2014 100.4 100.2
Oct. 2014 100.1 100.2
Nov. 2014 99.9 100.2
Dec. 2014 100.8 100.3
Jan. 2015 100.0 100.5
Feb. 2015 100.7 100.6
Mar. 2015 100.8 100.6
Apr. 2015 103.6 100.6
May. 2015 98.6 100.5
June 2015 100.2 100.4
July 2015 100.5 100.3
Aug. 2015 100.9 100.3
Sep. 2015 100.1 100.4
Oct. 2015 100.9 100.5
Nov. 2015 100.3 100.5
Dec. 2015 100.1 100.4
Jan. 2016 100.7 100.2
Feb. 2016 99.8 99.9
Mar. 2016 99.0 99.7
Apr. 2016 99.0 99.5
May. 2016 99.8 99.4
June 2016 99.9 99.5
July 2016 99.1 99.6
Aug. 2016 99.7 99.7
Sep. 2016 99.8 99.9
Oct. 2016 101.0 100.0
Nov. 2016 100.3 100.2
Dec. 2016 98.2 100.4
Jan. 2017 100.1 100.6
Feb. 2017 101.0 100.9
Mar. 2017 101.2 101.2
Apr. 2017 101.3 101.4
May. 2017 102.5 101.6
June 2017 102.4 101.6
July 2017 102.5 101.7
Aug. 2017 102.0 101.7
Sep. 2017 101.4 101.8
Oct. 2017 101.5 101.9
Nov. 2017 103.2 102.0
Dec. 2017 102.3 102.1
Jan. 2018 101.8 102.3
Feb. 2018 102.0 102.4
Mar. 2018 102.5 102.5
Apr. 2018 103.1 102.6
May. 2018 105.0 102.8
June 2018 102.1 102.8
July 2018 102.6 102.8
Aug. 2018 103.0 102.7
Sep. 2018 102.4 102.6
Oct. 2018 102.2 102.6

Working-day adjusted figures show that retail sales increased by 0.9 per cent in the period August 2018–October 2018 compared to the same period in 2017.

Indices for September have been updated

The unadjusted value index for September 2018 has been revised due to the incorporation of new information from a large respondent. This affects the branch relating to retail sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores. The value index for September has therefore been adjusted upwards. The revision also impacts the unadjusted and seasonally-adjusted volume index, as well as the working-day adjusted figures for value and volume.

 

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