The year-on-year decline in retail sales accelerated to four percent in September from August’s 2.8 percent. Retailers’ sales fall for the 17th month in a row. This follows from the data published today by the Czech Statistical Office. Month-on-month sales to traders fell by 0.4 percent in September.
The pace of year-on-year decline deepened in September compared to the previous month due to lower sales of non-food goods and food. On the contrary, the growth in sales continued to be maintained by the sale of fuel, the statisticians said. Sales for non-food goods fell year-on-year by 5.9 percent and for food by 4.1 percent. For fuel, they increased by 4.5 percent.
Revenues from the sale and repair of motor vehicles rose by 2.7 percent year-on-year in September. On the contrary, they recorded a month-on-month decrease of 1.7 percent.
„Adjusted for price effects, retail sales remained lower year-on-year in September as well. The pace of year-on-year decline deepened compared to the previous month as a result of lower sales of non-food goods and food. On the contrary, the growth in sales was maintained by the sale of fuel,” says Jana Gotvaldová, head of the Trade, Transport and Services Statistics Department of the CZSO.
“As early as next year, inflation should return to its target, which will allow real wages to rise. Thanks to this, the sales of traders will begin to increase and the Czech economy will revive. However, the inflationary episode caused enormous damage to our economy and significantly reduced the standard of living of the majority of the population,” says BHS Chief Economist Štěpán Křeček.
However, Křeček pointed out that prices are already stabilizing for many items in the consumer basket. And he also mentioned the fact that many Czechs continue to go shopping in Poland or Germany, where they can get better quality goods at lower prices.
Trinity Bank chief economist Lukáš Kovanda also drew attention to the influence of foreign trade. “If we go by the spring survey of the Association of Small and Medium-Sized Entrepreneurs and Tradesmen, Czechs will spend around 60 billion crowns this year on cross-border purchases abroad. The state loses considerable billions in taxes.”
