Norway’s retail sales declined unexpectedly in August, figures from Statistics Norway showed Tuesday.
Retail sales volume, excluding motor vehicles, dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.4 percent month-over-month in August, confounding economists’ expectations for a 0.3 percent gain. In July, sales had risen 0.5 percent.
Sales of clothing and footwear made a particular contribution to the decline of the volume index in August. Retail sales of sports equipment, household articles and electrical household appliances also contributed to the decrease in this period, the agency said.
On an annual basis, retail sales volume climbed a working-day-adjusted 0.9 percent in August. Meanwhile, retail sales value grew by 4.2 percent.
In the three months ended August, total retail sales volume also went up 0.9 percent compared with the corresponding period last year.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com