Actual (Apr): -2.7% y/y
Consensus: -0.1% y/y
Previous (Mar): 0.9% y/y
The retail sales dropped in April, although the market counted with stagnation. The month-on-month decrease (-1.0 pct.) is also quite significant. The headline figure was driven downward by a majority of market segments: food, textiles, household equipment, pharmaceutical goods and fuels. The second-hand goods was exception, showing a significant sales growth. The internet sales surged and confirmed their progressive increase in importance.
On the labor market, the real wage showed a second significant decrease in a row in April, while the unemployment rate declined slightly thanks to benign seasonality. Such conditions are not supportive for retail trade. The April retail data has confirmed that the domestic demand would welcome some support of the monetary policy. The central bank may cut the rates once the country gets closer to the IMF/EU deal that would provide the Hungarian bonds and the
forint with some resilience.