00
MONDAY, APRIL 25, 1994
PROVISIONAL RESULTS OF RETAIL SALES
SURVEY FOR FEBRUARY RELEASED
* *
THE VALUE OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES IN FEBRUARY, ESTIMATED AT $15.2 BILLION, INCREASED BY 23% WHEN COMPARED WITH FEBRUARY 1993, ACCORDING TO THE STATISTICS RELEASED TODAY (MONDAY) BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.
AFTER DISCOUNTING THE EFFECT OF PRICE CHANGES OVER THE PRRIOD, TOTAL RETAIL SALES ROSE BY 16% IN VOLUME TERMS.
IT SHOULD HOWEVER BE NOTED THAT CONSUMER SPENDING ON SOME COMMODITIES IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY ARE USUALLY AFFECTED BY THE TIMING OF THE LUNAR NEW YEAR.
AS THE LUNAR NEW YEAR OCCURRED IN FEBRUARY THIS YEAR BUT IN JANUARY LAST YEAR, IT IS MORE APPROPRIATE TO COMPARE THE RETAIL SALES FIGURES OF JANUARY AND FEBRUARY TAKEN TOGETHER.
TAKING THE FIRST TWO MONTHS OF 1994 TOGETHER, TOTAL RETAIL SALES ROSE BY 18% IN VALUE AND 12% IN VOLUME OVER THE SAME PERIOD LAST YEAR.
THIS WAS ATTRIBUTABLE MAINLY TO THE STRONG GROWTH IN SALES OF CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR (BY 33% IN VALUE AND 24% IN VOLUMB), JEWELLERY AND WATCHES (BY 27% IN VALUE AND 14% IN VOLUME), AND SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES (BY 25% IN VALUE AND 23% IN VOLUME).
IN
SUBSTANTIAL INCREASES WERE ALSO RECORDED FOR SALES SUPERMARKETS (BY 18% IN VALUE AND 11% IN VOLUME); SALES IN DEPARTMENT STORES (BY 10% IN VALUE AND 4% IN VOLUME); AND SALES OF FOODSTUFFS (BY 9% IN VALUE AND 8% IN VOLUME).
ON THE OTHER HAND, SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES DECREASED BY 4% IN VOLUME, DESPITE AN INCREASE OF 4% IN VALUE. SALES OF FUELS DROPPED BY 6% IN VALUE AND 9% IN VOLUME.
OF
THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES IS DERIVED FROM THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES AFTER ADJUSTING FOR PRICE CHANGES. THE RELEVANT COMPONENTS THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX ARE USED AS DEFLATORS.
TABLE 1 PRESENTS THE REVISED TOTAL RETAIL SALES FIGURE FOR JANUARY 1994 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURE FOR FEBRUARY 1994.
TABLE 2 SHOWS THE VALUE AND VOLUME INDICES OF RETAIL SALES IN JANUARY AND FEBRUARY 1994 FOR ALL RETAIL OUTLETS AND BY TYPE OF RETAIL OUTLET, WITH AVERAGE RETAIL SALES FROM OCTOBER 1989 TO SEPTEMBER 1990 TAKEN AS 100.
/COMPARISONS OF