XN000022-1985-12-01 — Page 3

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SUNDAY, DECEMBER 1, 1985

ANALYSED BY SELECTED TRADES, RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES ROSE SUBSTANTIALLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS WHEN COMPARED WITH SEPTEMBER 1984. DEPARTMENT STORES AND SUPERMARKETS ALSO RECORDED INCREASES IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME. RETAIL SALES OF CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES, HOWEVER, DROPPED SLIGHTLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS.

COMPARING THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1985 WITH THE SAME QUARTER IN 1984, RETAIL SALES OF MOTOR VEHICLES INCREASED CONSIDERABLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS. DEPARTMENT STORES RECORDED MODERATE INCREASES IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME, WHILE SUPERMARKETS SHOWED SLIGHT INCREASES. ON THE OTHER HAND, CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES DECREASED MODERATELY IN BOTH SALES VALUE AND VOLUME.

WHEN COMPARED WITH AUGUST 1985, RETAIL SALES OF SUPERMARKETS AND MOTOR VEHICLES INCREASED SLIGHTLY IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS. ON THE OTHER HAND, RETAIL SALES OF DEPARTMENT STORES SHOWED SIGNIFICANT DECREASES IN BOTH VALUE AND VOLUME TERMS, WHILE CONSUMER DURABLES OTHER THAN MOTOR VEHICLES RECORDED SLIGHT DECREASES.

TABLE 1 PRESENTS THE REVISED TOTAL SALES FIGURE FOR AUGUST 1985 AND THE PROVISIONAL FIGURE FOR SEPTEMBER 1985.

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 SEPTEMBER 1985 RESULTS WITH THOSE OF AUGUST 1985 AND SEPTEMBER 1984 AND COMPARISONS OF RETAIL SALES IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1985 WITH THOSE IN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1984 ARE ALSO GIVEN. GRAPHS 1 AND 2 DEPICT THE INDEX MOVEMENTS OF TOTAL RETAIL SALES FROM JANUARY 1983 TO AUGUST 1985.

THE REPORT CONTAINING THE ANALYSIS OF THE SEPTEMBER 1985 SURVEY RESULTS IS NOW ON SALE AT THE GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS CENTRE, GENERAL POST OFFICE, 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 ON TELEPHONE NUMBER 3-7216024.

TABLE 1: