Index of wholesale and retail sales, July 2001

The price index decreases by 0.8 per cent from July 2000 to July this year. The price index for retail sales includes value added tax. From July 1st 2001 the value added tax on food and non-alcoholic beverages has been reduced from 24 to 12 per cent. The price index for retail sales excluding value added tax increased by 2.2 per cent in the same period.

The volume index of retail sales not in stores decreased by 14.0 per cent in July 2001 compared with July 2000. Retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores decreased by 1.1 per cent in the same period.

The volume index of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetic and toilet articles increased by 7.7 per cent in July this year compared with July last year. Retail sale in non-specialized stores, which mainly include grocery stores, rose by 1.7 per in the same period. The volume index of retail sale of new goods in specialized stores increased by 0.5 per cent. This sector includes shoes, electrical goods, furniture and building materials

Seasonally adjusted volume index

Compared with June this year, the seasonally adjusted volume index dropped 0.8 per cent in July. That was 0.5 percent below the average of the first seven months of 2001.

Amended volume index of retail sales

The value added tax has been changed from 23 to 24 per cent on January 1st this year, however the necessary amendment was not taken correctly into account by the calculation of the price development from December 2000 to January 2001. Thus the volume index has now been amended by 0.8 per cent for the months of January to June this year.