S. Africa Sep Retail Sales Growth Below Expectations

(RTTNews) - South Africa's retail sales growth came in well below economists' expectations in September, data released by Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.

Unadjusted retail sales increased just 0.2 percent year-on-year, following 3.2 percent gain in August. Economists had forecast sales growth of 2.5 percent.

The latest sales growth figure was the weakest since a flat reading in December 2008.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialised stores declined, as well as those of pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and toiletries. Decreases were also seen in sales of household furniture.

On the other hand, sales of textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods and those of hardware, paint and glass increased.

Month-on-month, sales declined 0.7 percent in September, following a 1.2 percent climb in the previous month. That was the biggest decline since March.

In the third quarter, sales increased 0.4 percent from the previous three months.