POSITIVE PERFORMANCE
Retail sales rise bodes well for end of recession
The rise in retail sales gives impetus to consensus among economists that SA may escape another quarter of no growth
SA’s GDP could rebound from recession, lifted by positive performances in manufacturing, mining and retail. Retail sales rose 2.2% to R186bn in the second quarter, giving impetus to consensus among economists that SA may escape another quarter of no growth. The retail sector has been hit hard by a tightening of the lending environment and low consumer confidence, but has continued to surprise. Despite retailers such as Woolworths and Checkers expecting lower sales growth for the year ending August 2017, retail trade sales recorded the strongest figure since November 2016 and expanded 2.9% year on year in June. "The economic contraction in [the first quarter] was largely due to the poor performance of the retail sector, where sales fell 0.9% quarter on quarter," Capital Economics economist John Ashbourne said. In the first quarter of 2017, seasonally adjusted retail trade sales decreased 1.1% to R177.8bn compared with R179.6bn in the previous quarter. Ashbourne expected SA’s economy ...
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