Actual (May): 0.5 % m/m, 0.7 % y/y
Consensus: -0.4 % y/y
Previous (Apr): -0.3 % m/m, -1.2 % y/y
Retail trade increased in May, although market had expected another red figure. Behind that better result, there are sales of non-food stores. Clothes, pharmaceutical goods and cosmetics all showed very good growth. Also sales of household equipment posted a month-to-month growth, while their yearly decline lowered significantly. Sales of fuels were supported by a drop in prices compared with the previous months.
Although the May figures were good, Hungarian retail trade only stagnates in 2011. The labor market has showed some improvement as unemployment dropped to 11 pct, while average real wage increased. Nevertheless, room for growth of retail sales is still seen as very limited.