SA May retail trade sales slump

Retail trade sales, at constant (2008) prices, for the three months ended May 2009 reflected a decrease of 5.3% compared with the three months ended May 2008, while sales for the same period in 2008 decreased by 0.1%, Stats SA added.

Retail trade sales, at constant (2008) prices, for May 2009 decreased by 4.2% compared with May 2008.

Retail trade sales, at current prices, for the three months ended May increased by 6.0% compared with the three months ended May 2008.

The major contributors to this increase were general dealers (9.4% and contributing 3.8 percentage points) and retailers of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores (9.6% and contributing 1.0 percentage point).

Retail trade sales, at current prices for May increased by 6.8% compared with May 2008, while sales for the corresponding period in 2008 increased by 8.9%.

Retail sales growth is expected by analysts to improve gradually this year due to a combination of interest rate cuts in line with declining inflation and fears of slowing domestic growth, an increase in real wage growth, as well as some tax relief.

A new methodology changes the total 2008 sales at constant prices to an increase of 0.1% from a previous decrease of 2.2% at 2000 prices and the previous nine negative months now revert to five.

The best was a revised 5.1% (2.9%) in February 2008 and the worst 2.5% in May 2008.

The worst at 2000 prices was 5.6% in both August and September 2008.

Growth in 2007 is at 6.5% from 5.1% at 2000 prices and 11.9% in 2006 from 9.6% before.

The decline in 2008 at 2000 prices had marked the first annual decrease in nine years.

A new total of R507.114 billion (R301.899 billion at constant 2000 prices) was recorded at constant 2008 prices in 2008 from the R506.483 (R308.578) billion recorded in 2007.

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