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FRIDAY, JULY 9, 1982
APRIL RETAIL SALES VALUE
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THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES FOR THE RETAIL SECTOR IN APRIL 1982 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE $3 797 MILLION, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL SURVEY RESULTS PROVIDED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
AT 112, THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VALUE INDEX FOR APRIL 1982 SHOWED AN INCREASE OF FOUR POINTS OR FOUR PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH APRIL 1981 AND A DECREASE OF 10 POINTS OR EIGHT PER CENT AS COMPARED WITH MARCH 1982.
THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR APRIL 1982 STOOD AT 95, BEING FOUR POINTS OR FOUR PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR APRIL 1981 AND NINE POINTS OR NINE PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR MARCH 1982.
COMPARED WITH MARCH 1982, THE RETAIL SALES VALUE INDEX FOR FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO IN APRIL 1982 REMAINED THE SAME, BUT THE INDEXES FOR THE OTHER MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES DECLINED. THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEXES FOR FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO, AND SUPERMARKETS IN APRIL 1982 STOOD AT THE SAME LEVELS AS IN MARCH 1982. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT REDUCTION IN THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEXES WAS FOUND IN MOTOR VEHICLES (DOWN BY 18 POINTS OR 19 PER CENT), FOLLOWED BY CONSUMER DURABLES (BY 15 POINTS OR 13 PER CENT), CONSUMER GOODS (BY 12 POINTS OR 11 PER CENT) AND CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS (BY 10 POINTS OR 10 PER CENT).
WHILE
COMPARED WITH APRIL 1981, THE RETAIL SALES OF FUELS, SUPERMARKETS AND CONSUMER GOODS INCREASED IN VOLUME TERMS BY 19 PER CENT, FOUR PER CENT AND TWO PER CENT RESPECTIVELY. THE RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR DEPARTMENT STORES REMAINED UNCHANGED, THOSE FOR FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY 17 POINTS OR 17 PER CENT, FOLLOWED BY CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS BY 16 POINTS OR 15 PER CENT, AND MOTOR VEHICLES BY 11 POINTS OR 13 PER CENT.
TABLES 1 AND 2 PRESENT THE REVISED AND PROVISIONAL FIGURES OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES AND THE RETAIL SALES VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES BY SELECTED TRADES AND MAJOR TRADE GROUPS IN MARCH AND APRIL 1982, WITH THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 TAKEN AS 100. A COMPARISON OF THE APRIL RESULTS WITH THOSE OF THE PRECEDING MONTH AND OF THE CORRESPONDING MONTH IN 1981 IS ALSO SHOWN.
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