ECONOMY

May retail sales enjoy yearly rise

May retail sales enjoy yearly rise

May proved to be the best month in the first five of 2015 in terms of retail sales volume, and the second in turnover, according to data released on Friday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ESTAT).

The seasonally adjusted turnover index showed a 2.2 percent increase in May from the same month in 2014, coming to 74.5 points. The sales volume index showed an even greater increase, at 3.9 percent year-on-year to reach 73.5 points, the highest so far this year.

The seasonally adjusted indexes take into account various factors such as holidays, school opening or closing etc.
The biggest turnover growth in percentage terms was in the books and stationery sector, amounting to 5.2 percent from May 2014, followed by the apparel sector with a 3.9 percent annual increase and supermarkets with a 2.5 percent turnover rise. The 7.3 percent increase in apparel sales volume showed that the 10-day spring sales performed better than last year.

Fuel stations witnessed a shrinking in their turnover by 2.3 percent on a yearly basis, which is not attributed to a drop in demand but to the decline in fuel prices, as the sales volume index expanded by 5.9 percent in May compared to a year earlier.

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