RO retail sales return to growth in June

The retail sales in Romania rose by 2.9% in June compared to the same month last year and returned to positive annual growth rates after the lockdown and low consumer confidence pushed down private consumption in April-May.

Finance minister Florin Citu took advantage of this to brag once again with the Government's successful policies.

"We have done well so far. We are preparing the economy for strong growth in 2021," he said.

Food sales, which had returned to positive growth in May, also posted moderate growth in June (+3.6% year-on-year).

Restored consumer confidence pushed up (+8.9% yoy) the non-food sales as well in June.

However, fuel sales remained subdued (-8.8% y-o-y) despite low prices, mainly because the tourism activity in June was below normal levels.

In the whole second quarter of the year, the retail sales contracted by 7.3% compared to the same period of 2019, mainly driven down by the 23% annual plunge in the sales of car fuels.

Food sales posted a modest 1.1% yearly growth and non-food sales contracted by 6.6%.

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