Retail Sales Highlights
A survey carried on by Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded that the retail sales of February 2018 grew by 1.5% y-y after it declined by 1.8% in January 2018. The apparel products soaring by 11.5% and the spare-part and accessories products escalating by 12.2% recorded the highest growth. BI also estimated the higher growth of 1.7% in March’s retail sales.
The growth in February and March’s retail sales is significant to eye the trend of 2018’s domestic consumption. Based on the seasonal cycle, the retail sales likely to hike further ahead of Eid Mubarak season of 2018 occurred in June.
The positive trend of retail sales starting in February 2018 assures that 2018’s domestic consumption is likely rosier than 2017’s domestic consumption. 2017’s domestic retail sales faced headwind of sluggish purchasing power attributable to the adjustment to electricity tariff by authority. The current contrast conditions in which the authority is committed to holding inflation steady provide spacious rooms for retail sales to grow.
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