Poland: Retail sales up only slightly in March

Retail sales in Poland rose at a slower-than-expected pace in March. Statistics office GUS said that the year-on-year increase was 0.1 percent and that in month-on-month terms retail sales grew by 16.8 percent. In constant prices, the figure remained unchanged y/y.

Economists surveyed by PAP had expected retail sales to rise by 0.5 percent y/y and by 17.2 percent m/m.

“These data should not be interpreted as a signal of improvement of consumer demand because the rebound is driven by Easter shopping carried out already in late March,” Bank Zachodni WBK economists wrote in a comment. “We expect consumer demand to remain subdued in coming quarters,” they added.

Poland's strong retail sales during the global economic crisis were widely credited with keeping the economy in growth territory. Recently though, retail sales have slowed markedly. In March last year, retail sales grew at 10.7 percent y/y – and they haven't grown by more than 7.7 percent since then.

Warsaw Business Journal

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