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MONDAY, JUNE 2, 1986
BOTH CONSUMER DURABLES AND OTHER CONSUMER GOODS+ WENT UP BY 6 PER CENT IN SALES VALUE. THE IR RESPECTIVE INCREASES IN SALES VOLUME WERE 6 PER CENT AND 5 PER CENT. FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO RECORDED NO CHANGE IN SALES VALUE BUT SHOWED AN INCREASE OF 1 PER CENT IN SALES VOLUME.
ON THE OTHER HAND, CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS WENT DOWN BY 9 PER CENT IN SALES VALUE AND 11 PER CENT IN SALES VOLUME. ANALYSED BY SELECTED TRADES, RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES ROSE MODERATELY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS, WHILE THOSE OF SUPERMARKETS SHOWED MODERTATE DECREASES.
RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES AND DEPARTMENT STORES DECREASED SLIGHTLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS.
TABLE 1 PRESENTS THE REVISED TOTAL SALES FIGURE FOR FEBRUARY 1986 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURE FOR MARCH 1986.
TABLE 2 SHOWS THE VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES OF RETAIL SALES BY MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES (WHICH FORM PART OF THE RELEVANT MAJOR TRADE GROUPS), WITH AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 TAKEN AS 100. COMPARISONS OF MARCH 1986 RESULTS WITH THOSE OF FEBRUARY 1986 AND MARCH 1985 AND COMPARISONS OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES IN THE THREE-MONTH PERIOD JANUARY 1986-MARCH 1986 WITH THOSE IN THE SAME PERIOD A YEAR AGO ARE ALSO GIVEN.
GRAPHS 1 AND 2 DEPICT THE MOVEMENTS OF THE INDEXES OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES, INCLUDING THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED INDEXES AND TRENDS, FROM JANUARY 1983 TO FEBRUARY 1986.
AS SHOWN IN GRAPH 1, OVER THE PAST THREE YEARS. THE VALUE INDEX OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY IN THE MONTHS OF DECEMBER AND JANUARY BUT DROPPED SIGNIFICANTLY IN THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY. THESE MOVEMENTS WERE LARGELY DUE TO THE FESTIVE SPENDING AT CHRISTMAS AND LUNAR NEW YEAR. THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SALES VALUE INDEX AND TREND HAVE GENERALLY FOLLOWED A SMOOTHER UPWARD COURSE OVER THE YEARS.
THE VOLUME INDEX OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES, AS DEPICTED IN GRAPH 2, SHOWS A PATTERN OF MOVEMENTS SIMILAR TO THAT OF THE VALUE INDEX. HOWEVER, THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED SALES VOLUME INDEX AND TREND RISE MUCH MORE SLOWLY THAN THE SEASONALLY ADJUSTED INDEX AND TREND FOR SALES VALUE.
THE REPORT CONTAINING THE ANALYSIS OF THE MARCH 1986 SURVEY RESULTS IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATION SALES CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE BUILDING, CONNAUGHT PLACE, AT $1 PER COPY.
ENQUIRIES ABOUT THE SURVEY RESULTS MAY BE DIRECTED TO THE WHOLESALE AND RETAIL TRADE STATISTICS SECTION OF THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT (TEL. NO. 3-7216024).
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