Retail still feels VAT cut effects with 9.6 pct increase y-o-y in July 2015

Newsroom 03/09/2015 | 17:58

The VAT cut in June is still showing effects as the retail turnover volume (excluding the trade with motor vehicles and motorcycles) increased in July both as gross series (9.6 percent) and as adjusted series according to the number of working days and to seasonality(8.5 percent), says the National Institute for Statistics.

This rise was mainly due to increments registered by the sale of food, beverages and tobacco (up 23.1 percent as gross series and 21.7 percent as adjusted series), by the retail of automotive fuel in specialised stores (up 5.8 percent – gross series, 6,7 percent – adjusted series) and by the sale of non‐food products (up 1.6 percent as unadjusted series and 1.5 as adjusted series).

Compared to the previous month, reatil sales showed a 7.9 percent rise (gross series), while adjusted numbers were smaller (1.1 percent).

This time automotive fuel showed a larger increase (18.2 percent in gross and 4.1 percent in adjusted series) than food sales (up 5.8 percent and 0.4 percent respectively). Non-food sales grew 4 percent as unadjusted series, while adjusted numbers indicated a 0.1 rise.

When looking at the first seven months of 2015 compared to the same period of the previous year, the retail turnover volume increased both as gross series (5.6 percent) and as adjusted series according to the number of working days (5.5 percent).