Retail sales in Hungary fell by an annual 1.6% in September as non-food and fuel sales dropped, the Central Statistical Office (KSH) said. Adjusted for calendar year effects, retail sales declined by 2.0%. Adjusted food sales rose by 2.0% while non-food sales dropped by 3.8% and fuel sales by 9.8%.
Sales of clothing and footwear dropped 20.7% and sales of furniture and appliances fell by 19.0%. Pharmaceutical sales were up 7.6% and internet and mail-order sales rose by 36.6%. In absolute terms, retail turnover came to 1,043 billion forints (EUR 2.9bn) in September.
For the period January-September, retail sales rose an adjusted and unadjusted 0.5%. Adjusted food sales were up 3.5%, non-food sales increased 1.1% and vehicle fuel sales dropped by 9.7%.
ING Bank chief analyst Péter Virovácz said the lack of foreign tourists because of border restrictions in force from the start of the month may have contributed to the September decline in retail sales. The wind-down of coronavirus wage support may also have reduced disposable income and impacted retail sales, he added. Takarékbank senior analyst Gergely Suppan said fuel sales could have been hit by the drop in transit traffic because of border restrictions as well as a return, for some, to telecommuting with the arrival of the second wave of the pandemic. He augured a full-year rise in retail sales of 0.7-1.2%.
MTI
