Retail sales increased by 3.8% in November from a year earlier, following a surprise 0.2% decrease in October, Statistics SA said on Wednesday. Trading Economics had forecast an increase of 0.5% for November while the Bloomberg consensus forecast was for a 0.3% decrease. FNB Senior Economic analyst Jason Muscat said the growth seen in November was a result of consumers delaying purchases in October to take advantage of Black Friday deals in November. “We expect that the revival in the month will be short-lived, and that year-on-year December sales will disappoint given high levels of pre-December buying (Black Friday) and this morning’s 6.8% year on year inflation print for [December],” Muscat said. Rising unemployment and high levels of indebtedness have constrained consumer spending and confidence. Lenders have also been tightening up their lending criteria. Muscat said analysts expect slightly higher household consumption growth levels in 2017, but it is unlikely consumers will g...
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