Retail trade sees turnover rise for fourth month in a row

The retail trade saw turnover rise 3.4% in April on the year earlier period, continuing the gradual improvement of the first quarter, the central statistics agency CBS said on Friday.

It is the biggest rise in turnover for the retail trade since November 2010.

It is worth noting that prices fell in April by 0.3%, sending volume sales up by 3.8%, the biggest increase in many years, the CBS said.

It was the fourth month in a row that non-food shopes booked higher turnover than the year before. In particular, consumer electronics saw buyers spending more.

Only furniture and home design shops saw no improvement, despite the positive developments in the housing market.

Food shops

Supermarkets and other food shops booked a big rise in turnover in April, having seen a dramatic fall in March. According to the CBS, this can be accounted for by the late Easter, with consumers doing their Easter shopping in April rather than in the last week of March in 2013.

Turnover in post order companies and internet shops also rose in April, by 13%. This was a bigger rise than in the first quarter, the CBS said.

 

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