The growth of retail sales in Türkiye for July eased when compared to a month earlier, while the pace of expansion on an annual level also slowed down, official data showed on Wednesday.
The volume of retail trade grew 0.8% month-over-month in July, slowing from a 1.7% rise in June, the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) data showed.
Sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose by 0.2%, and non-food items except automotive fuel increased by 2.1% during the same period.
Automotive fuel sales, on the other hand, dropped 3.7% month-over-month in July, the largest decline since last August.
The largest monthly decline was registered in the volume of sales of computers, books, and telecommunications equipment, which were down 6.1% when compared to the month before, according to TurkStat.
On an annual basis, retail sales climbed 5.4% in July, at the slowest clip in two years.
Like this, it is seen that the tight stance in monetary policy continues to create downward pressure on the consumption side.
Turkish central bank has hiked its key policy rate by a total of 4,150 basis points from last June through this March in a bid to rein in elevated inflation.
The TurkStat data also showed the total trade sales volume decreased by 3.4% in July compared with the same month of the previous year. In the same month, wholesale and retail trade and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles volume plunged by 10.8% while wholesale trade sales volume decreased by 5.6%.
The trade sales volume was also down 0.6% month-over-month in July, TurkStat said.
On the other hand, separate data revealed on Wednesday that the total turnover of the Turkish economy slipped slightly on a monthly basis in July while rising compared to the same month in 2023.
Turkish economy’s total turnover fell 0.4% on a monthly basis in July, TurkStat data showed, following a 1.5% monthly increase in June.
The construction sector saw the largest monthly decline with 8.6% in July, followed by accommodation and food services at 3.3%.
Meanwhile, turnover in the trade sector increased 0.7% and industry 0.3% month-over-month.
On an annual basis, Türkiye’s total turnover index rose 39.8% in July.
Looking at the subcategories of the total turnover index; the industry index rose by 27%, construction was up by 58.8% while trade increased by 40.6%, and the services sector saw a turnover increase of 56.1% on an annual basis in July.
