MBH quick analysis: Retail trade momentum decreased in May

Retail performance:

Based on seasonally and calendar-adjusted data for May, retail sales volume was 1.3% lower than in April. We can speak of a general decline, as the volume decreased in all three main categories: in both food and food-related mixed trade and non-food, the turnover volume was 1% lower than in the previous month, while in the case of fuels, the volume was 3.9%. The current figure is 1.7% above the monthly average of 2021, which fits into the slow growth trend that has been going on for a year and a half.

In an annual comparison, the momentum is visible: turnover increased by 2.1% compared to May last year. The expansion was clearly driven by the non-food category (+4%), while fuel turnover dragged it down (-1.1%). Food and food-related mixed trade essentially stagnated (+0.5%), which shows that the food margin freeze has no lasting effect on increasing turnover. Excluding fuel turnover, the annual growth was 2.7%.