An upward retail sales trend has been in place for the 39th month in a row, Deputy State Secretary for Corporate Relations Zoltán Marczinkó said, commenting on the latest report on retail sales data by the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH).

According to the KSH, unadjusted and calendar-adjusted data show that in September 2016 the volume of retail sales rose by 5.1 percent year-on-year.

As the Deputy State Secretary stressed, retail volumes were higher in all the three major sub sectors: at food and non-food retailers as well as automotive fuel retailers.

The volume of sales was up in the month of September by 3.9 percent at retailers of food, beverages and tobacco products. Volume growth in this segment is especially noteworthy, he added, as this sector accounts for 45-50 percent of total retail sales, and the volume of sales usually grow by only 2.5-3 percent.

Zoltán Marczinkó stated that Government measures such as the 1 percent cut in the personal income tax rate or low inflation are pointing to further expansion of the sector in the remainder of the year. Traditionally, the end of November and the month of December are the periods of marked retail sales growth in each year, he said.

(Ministry for National Economy)