Hungary retail sales fall 2.4% in Aug

January-August retail sales were down 1.4% from the same period a year earlier, according to calendar year-adjusted figures. Sales rose only in January and March. Retail sales in Hungary rose a calendar year-adjusted 0.3% in 2011 after steady drops between 2007 and 2010.
In nominal terms, retail sales were worth HUF 739.3 billion in August, up HUF 8 billion in a month, and up HUF 28.9 billion from a year earlier.
Sales of shops selling food, drink and tobacco fell a calendar-adjusted 1.5% yr/yr in August and were unchanged in January-August. They rose a seasonally and calendar-adjusted 0.2% from July. They rose at a 0.2%-0.3% monthly pace in nine of the past twelve months. The other three months showed decreases between 0.2-1.1%, including a 0.9% decrease in July.
Sales of non-food products fell 3.5% yr/yr and were down 0.6% on the month in August, the adjusted figures show. January-August non-food sales were down 2.2% yr/yr. Within non-food sales, pharmaceuticals and medical goods sales fell 1.9% yr/yr in August, and were down 5.0% yr/yr in January-August. They fell 1.5% from a month earlier.
Sales of furniture and electrical goods fell 9.3% yr/yr and fell 1.0% in a month, the adjusted figures show. January-August sales in the product group were down 8.4% yr/yr.
Fuel sales continued to decline in a year-on-year comparison, and were down 3.3% in August and 2.8% in January-August. Month-on-month, fuel sales declined 0.9% after rising in the previous two months. Car and car part sales, which, in line with EU methodology, are not part of the retail statistics, were down 16.1% yr/yr in August and were down 1.0% yr/yr in the first eight months, KSH reported. 2011 car and car part sales were down 4.5% from 2010.