"Retail sales were up 1.1% year-on-year in November, exceeding estimates, according to calendar-adjusted data from the Central Statistics Office. Excluding petrol sales, retail sales grew an annualised 2.3%.Retail sales went up 0.2% month-on-month in November, which is generally seen as a weak period for retailers, Napi Gazdasag observes.
Sales of durable goods saw remarkable 3.4% year-on-year growth.
Households maintained their spending level on food, despite higher than average price increases, retail association OKSZ observed.
This shows there is some slack, but high fuel and food prices are suppressing demand, the OKSZ argued.
The data suggest that changes in income tax, rising wages, and the payment of real yields on private pension funds all had a positive effect on consumption, Napi Gazdasag writes."
Source: Hungary Around the Clock
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01.02.2012