INSIDE YOUR POCKET – December retail sales volumes show subdued Festive Season
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GUEST – Siphamandla Mkhwanazi, FNB Senior Economist
SA’s retail trade shrank in December, coming in worse than market forecasts, as retailers and households across the country dealt with recurrent power cuts, rising costs and elevated prices.Retail sales volumes closed 2022 on a sour note, declining by 0.6% y/y in December, from a relatively muted 0.8% increase in November (revised higher from 0.4% y/y). On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted volumes declined by 0.6% in December, from a 1.0% increase previously. Still, retail sales increased by a marginal 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, suggesting a meagre contribution to the 4Q22 GDP growth.
SA’s retail trade shrank in December, coming in worse than market forecasts, as retailers and households across the country dealt with recurrent power cuts, rising costs and elevated prices.Retail sales volumes closed 2022 on a sour note, declining by 0.6% y/y in December, from a relatively muted 0.8% increase in November (revised higher from 0.4% y/y). On a month-on-month basis, seasonally adjusted volumes declined by 0.6% in December, from a 1.0% increase previously. Still, retail sales increased by a marginal 0.3% quarter-on-quarter, suggesting a meagre contribution to the 4Q22 GDP growth.
