The volume of sales, adjusted for calendar effects, rose by 3.1% in specialized and non-specialized food shops, by 9.7% in non-food retail shops, and by 7.1% in automotive fuel retail.
Sales growth accelerated from 5.6% in September and 4.7% in August.
In January–October 2017, the volume of sales – according to calendar-adjusted data – was 4.5% higher than in the corresponding period of the previous year. Adjusted food sales were up 2.5%, non-food sales climbed 7.7%, and fuel sales rose 3.2%.
The KSH is scheduled to publish a second reading of October retail sales figures on December 18.
Analyst Gergely Suppan of TakarékBank told state news wire MTI that he expected retail sales to continue to grow at around 6% in the coming months, predicting full-year growth of just over 4.5% in the sector both this year and in 2018.
Gergely Ürmössy of Erste Bank likewise forecast retail sales growth of 4.5-5% in 2017, and a similar expansion in 2018.