Retail sales contract in December

2010/02/17

Retail trade sales contracted in December, but by less than economists had expected, Statistics SA said on Wednesday.

According to the Pretoria-based agency, retail sales contracted by 3.7 percent year-on-year in December from a 6.6 percent drop year-on-year in November.

Nedbank economists had expected a year-on-year decline of 7,8 percent for December.

"December's figure was very positive and above expectation," Nedbank economist Dennis Dykes said.

"It shows that things are starting to pick up a bit," he said.

"The key question is can this be sustained into the future and I would answer that a lot depends on what happens internationally. We are victims of what happens elsewhere, but definitely, December's figure is a big leap." (Source: Sapa)