14.03.202212:23:00UTC+00Czech Retail Sales Growth Improves In January

The Czech retail sales grew at a faster pace in January after easing in the previous month, data from the Czech Statistical Office showed on Monday.

Retail sales grew by a working-day 8.5 percent year-on-year in January, following a 0.1 percent rise in December. In November, retail sales rose 11.8 percent.

On a month-on-month basis, retail sales excluding automobile trade rose a seasonally adjusted 1.6 percent in January.

Sales of non-food gained 2.2 percent, while those of food goods declined 0.2 percent. Sales of automotive fuel increased 4.7 percent.

Retail sales growth was largely led by sales in 'clothing and footwear' and 'other household equipment', the agency said.

Sales online or through mail orders decreased 5.7 percent from a year ago owing to the high growth in January 2021, when brick and mortar stores were closed, the statistical office said.

"High growth rates were mainly recorded by stores that were last January affected by measures related to the corona virus pandemic," Marie Bouskova, a statistical office official, said.