Overall, retail sales, adjusted for sales and public holiday effects, rose nominal 5.7 percent in September 2022 from the same month last year, as the Federal Statistical Office announced in a communiqué released Monday. Inflation was largely responsible for the strong growth.
However, retailers are also selling more goods in volume. In real terms, excluding inflation, there was still a 3.2 percent increase.
As in the past few months, fuel prices have driven growth. Compared to the same month of the previous year, it rose 23.0 percent in nominal terms despite only 0.2 percent more fuel being sold in September. Fuels aside, the surplus in retail trade decreased by 0.6 percentage points to 5.1 percent in nominal terms, and decreased by 0.3 percentage points to 2.9 percent in real terms.
However, compared to August figures, the price increases are barely noticeable. Total retail sales rose 1.0 percent, 0.9 percent of which was due to higher sales volumes. The same picture emerges for sales excluding fuel oil on a monthly basis: It increased by 1.0 percent in nominal terms and by 0.9 percent in real terms.
(SDA)