In January 2017, the volume of retail sales rose by 4.8 percent year-on-year, which shows that a 43-month growth trend has remained in place. Sales growth exceeded the EU average. The growth in disposable income was higher than that of retail sales, which signals a robust savings trend and the potential for further consumption growth.

In the month of January, the volume of sales was up by 3.7 percent year-on-year in the non-food sector, a sign for an ongoing upward trend. Sales growth at specialized and non-specialized food retailers was only slightly lower, at 3.4 percent. The sales of fuels also increased dynamically, by 6.7 percent. Since January 2010, sales in the sector have risen by 19.4 percent, and since the beginning of 2014 they have been up by 16.3 percent.

Driven by positive employment trends and low inflation, in 2016 consumption growth hit a rate unseen since 2003. It is especially encouraging that accelerating growth and the pick-up in lending indicate that households have carried out purchases they had delayed due to the crisis.

Massive wage increases and rising household confidence have resulted in year-on-year household consumption growth of 4.9 percent in 2016, in line with the prediction of the Macro-Economic and Budgetary Forecast, published in December 2016.

The six-year wage deal concluded in November 2016 is expected to boost consumption growth through lifting household income.

(Ministry for National Economy)