Romania's retail trade up 7.8% in H1

Romania's retail trade turnover, which is considered the most important indicator of household consumption, increased by 7.8% in the first six months of this year compared to the same period last year. The growth was supported by the sales of fuel in specialized stores, according to the National Statistics Institute (INS). The figures don’t include the sales of motor vehicles and motorcycles. Fuel sales grew by 10.9% year-on-year during this period while non-food sales went up by 10.1%. The sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose by 3.5% year-on-year. The retail trade turnover dropped by 1.5% in June compared to May due to the lower sales of food, beverages and tobacco (-2.8%). Non-food sales decreased by 1.5% in June over May whereas the fuel sales went up by 0.6%. When compared to June 2016, the retail trade turnover went up by 7.3% as fuel sales increased by 10.1% and non-food sales went up by 9.4%. Food sales were up 3.2%. In the last two years, Government measures, including tax cuts and wage increases in the public sector have stimulated retail sales. The retail trade turnover went up by 13.5% in 2016 compared to the previous year, the highest growth rate after 2007. editor@romania-insider.com