Index of wholesale and retail sales, February 2003

Retail sales figures exclude motor vehicles and petrol.

The volume index of retail sale of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores rose by 7.8 per cent in February 2003 compared with February 2002. Retail sale of new goods in specialized stores increased the turnover in volume by 3.7 per cent in the same period. This sector includes clothing, shoes, electrical goods, furniture and building materials. Retail sales in non-specialized stores, which mainly include grocery stores, increased the turnover volume by 2.1 per cent. The volume index of pharmaceutical and medical goods, cosmetics and toilet articles increased by 0.3 per cent in February 2003 compared with February 2002.

More money on food and beverages

The value of retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores rose by 8.4 per cent in February this year compared with February last year. The value index of retail sales in non-specialized stores, which mainly include grocery stores, increased by 4,7 per cent in the same period. The total value index of retail sales rose by 3.8 per cent in February compared with the same period last year.

Revised figures

Due to new information from some stores certain industries are revised for the period May to October 2002. The industries are: retail sales in non-specialized stores, with food, beverages or tobacco predominating and retail sale of a variety of hardware, paint and glass. The total index is not revised for this period. Retail sale of clothing is revised for January 2003. This involves a revise of 0.1 per cent of the total index for January 2003.

Index of commodity consumption , that aims to quantify the commodity consumption of the households, is published at the same time as the index of retail sales.