Index of wholesale and retail sales, December 2002

The unadjusted volume index of retail sale increased by 2.4 per cent in December 2002 compared with December 2001. The value index of retail sales rose by 3.1 per cent in the same period. Retail sales figures exclude motor vehicles and petrol.

Pharmaceutical products increased the most

The value index for shops with the industry pharmaceutival products, nursing articles, cosmetics and toilet requisites increased by 9.2 per cent in December compared with December 2001. Turnover in value for special shops with food, beverages and tobacco rose by 4.7 per cent in the same period.

Decline in sale of clothes and footwear

The value index for shops with sale of footwear decreased by 10.8 per cent and the turnover for clothes by 1.6 per cent from December 2001 to December 2002. Retail trade with furniture declined as well, 10 per cent.

Changes in calculations of price index of retail trade and volume index

The price index of retail trade for some industries has had a systematic different development than the price growth in partly comparable sub-indices in the consumer price index. This has created uncertainty in the interpretation of the volume development in retail sales as a measure of the production development in the trade link and as an indicator for the development of commodity consumption in households.

Statistics Norway has altered the method for the calculation of price indices for retail trade. The new method is based on the price development for commodity groups from the consumer price index and the commodity composition in the various industries. The commodity composition is from the Gross Margin Survey 1996, and will be updated as soon as the results from an equivalent survey for 2002 are available. The revised method for the calculation of a price index for retail trade is based on the same principles that are the basis for the calculation of the deflator for the detail trade component in the Index of commodity consumption

Revised volume figures

Revised volume figures for total detail trade with the use of new deflator are calculated back to August 1999 and will be published from now on. The sub-indices will be published 28 February. The revised volume figures show a stronger growth than the what was published previously. On average the annual volume growth for detail trade is 1.0 per cent higher than previously published.

Volume figures for consumption in households in the quarterly national accounts and the index of commodity consumption are not affected by the revised deflating system for the index for retail trade.

Changes in publishing routines

From 28 January Statistics Norway will publish the index of retail trade only once a month. The time of publishing will be moved 3-4 days in relation to the preliminary figures that previously were available on the 23. On the other hand the figures will be as detailed as the previously published final figures about two weeks later.

As an indicator of household consumption Statistics Norway also publishes the index of commodity consumption . From January 2003 the indices of retail sales and commodity consumption will be published at the same time.

Tables:

• Table 1 Retail sales. Index of value. 1995 = 100
• Table 2 Retail sales. Index of volume. Unadjusted. 1995 = 100
• Table 3 Retail sales. Index of volume. Seasonally adjusted 1995=100