May wholesale trade sales up 7.7%

Wholesale trade sales at constant (2012) prices increased by 7.7% year-on-year (y/y) in May compared with a 8.4% y/y increase in April‚ Statistics SA (Stats SA) data showed on Thursday (18 July).

Measured in real terms‚ seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales increased by 0.6% in May compared with April following month-on-month changes of 10.1% in April and -6.0% in March.

Seasonally adjusted wholesale trade sales increased by 0.6% in the three months ended May compared with the previous three months.

Measured in nominal terms (current prices)‚ wholesale trade sales increased by 12.3% in May compared with May last year.

The major contributors to this increase were dealers in "other" household goods except precious stones contributing 2.6 percentage points; agricultural raw materials and livestock‚ contributing 2.0 percentage points; and solid‚ liquid and gaseous fuels and related products‚ contributing 2.0 percentage points.

Wholesale trade sales increased by 10.4% in the three months ended May compared with the three months ended May 2012.

The major contributors to this increase were dealers in solid‚ liquid and gaseous fuels and related products‚ contributing 2.4 percentage points; food‚ beverages and tobacco‚ contributing 2.1 percentage points; and "other" household goods except precious stones‚ contributing 1.9 percentage points.