XN000022-1982-11-27 — Page 2

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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 27, 1982

MONTHLY SURVEY OF RETAIL SALES FOR SEPTEMBER 1982

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THE VALUE OF RETAIL SALES FOR THE RETAIL TRADE SECTOR IN SEPTEMBER 1982 WAS ESTIMATED TO BE $4 263 MILLION, ACCORDING TO THE PROVISIONAL SURVEY RESULTS PUBLISHED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT,

AT 125, THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VALUE INDEX FOR SEPTEMBER 1982 WAS THE SAME AS THAT FOR AUGUST 1982 BUT INCREASED BY SEVEN POINTS OR SIX PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH SEPTEMBER 1981.

THE OVERALL RETAIL SALES VOLUME INDEX FOR SEPTEMBER 1982, AT 102,

WAS ONE POINT OR ONE PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR AUGUST 1982, AND TWO POINTS OR TWO PER CENT LOWER THAN THAT FOR SEPTEMBER 1981.

COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1982, THE RETAIL SALES VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES FOR MOST MAJOR TRADE GROUPS AND SELECTED TRADES REMAINED RELATIVELY STABLE.

RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES, HAVING BEEN STAGNANT FOR A LONG PERIOD, INCREASED BY 15 PER CENT IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS. ON THE OTHER HAND, RETAIL SALES OF DEPARTMENT STORES FELL BY 16 PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS AND 19 PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS. RETAIL SALES OF SUPERMARKETS DECREASED BY THREE PER CENT IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS.

COMPARED WITH SEPTEMBER 1981, RETAIL SALES OF SUPERMARKETS AND CONSUMER GOODS INCREASED BY 20 PER CENT AND 15 PER CENT RESPECTIVELY IN VALUE TERMS, WHILE THOSE OF FUELS AND CLOTHING, FOOTWEAR AND ALLIED PRODUCTS, EACH INCREASED BY 14 PER CENT.

IN VOLUME TERMS, SUPERMARKETS RECORDED THE HIGHEST GROWTH IN RETAIL SALES AT 11 PER CENT, FOLLOWED BY FUELS AT EIGHT PER CENT AND CONSUMER GOODS AT FIVE PER CENT.

ON THE OTHER HAND, RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES DECREASED SIGNIFICANTLY BY 36 PER CENT IN VALUE TERMS AND 48 PER CENT IN VOLUME TERMS.

THE VOLUME OF RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES, DEPARTMENT STORES, AND FOODSTUFFS, ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND TOBACCO ALSO DECREASED BY 17 PER CENT, SIX PER CENT AND FIVE PER CENT RESPECTIVELY.

TABLES 1 AND 2 (ATTACHED) PRESENT THE REVISED FIGURES FOR AUGUST AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURES FOR SEPTEMBER 1982 ON THE TOTAL RETAIL SALES. AND ON THE RETAIL SALES VALUE AND VOLUME INDEXES BY SELECTED TRADES AND MAJOR TRADE GROUPS. THE AVERAGE MONTHLY RETAIL SALES IN 1980 ARE TAKEN AS 100. COMPARISONS OF THE SEPTEMBER RESULTS WITH THOSE OF THE PRECEDING MONTH AND OF THE CORRESPONDING MONTH IN 1981 ARE ALSO GIVEN.

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.