SA March retail trade sales up 1.0% y/y

Retail trade sales measured in constant (2012) prices increased by a weaker than expected 1.0% year-on-year (y/y) in March after increasing by a revised 2.3% (2.2%) y/y in February‚ figures from Statistics SA showed on Wednesday, 14 May 2014.

Retail trade sales were expected to have increased by 2.4% y/y‚ according to a median consensus from a survey of nine economists by BDpro. Forecasts among the economists polled ranged from 1.0% to 3.9%.

Measured in real terms‚ seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased by 1.4% month on month in March following month-on-month changes of -0.3% in February and 0.2% in January.

Seasonally adjusted retail trade sales increased by 0.6% in the first quarter of 2014 compared with the fourth quarter of 2013 and were up 3.2% in the first quarter of 2014 compared with the first quarter of 2013.