UPDATE - Retail sales inch up 0.3 % in September

Retail sales in Hungary edged up a calendar year-adjusted 0.3% in September from the same month a year earlier, the Central Statistics Office (KSH) said on Thursday.

The increase followed a 0.4% rise in August and a 1.3% fall in July.

In a calendar year- and seasonally-adjusted month-on-month comparison, retail sales were flat September, after climbing 0.4% in August but dropping in July and June.

Retail sales came to HUF 689.5bn at current prices in September, down from HUF 709.6bn in August, which was the monthly high for the year so far.

In January-September, retail sales fell 0.1% from the same period a year earlier.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose 1.5% in September from the same month a year earlier, accelerating from a 0.4% increase in the previous month. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco were up 0.2% in January-September from the same period a year earlier.

Retail sales of non-food products fell 0.6% year-on-year in September after rising 2.5% in August. Non-food sales were up 0.3% in January-September from the same period a year earlier.

Gergely Suppan, an analyst for Magyar Takarekszovetkezeti Bank said the data were in line with expectations. Retail sales have stabilised thanks to the payout of real yields on private pension fund assets transferred to the state pillar, he added.

He said retail sales were likely to stagnate in the coming months, but decline slowly again in 2012 because of tax changes.