2023.01.1813:21:00UTC+00South African Retail Sales Unexpectedly Rise 0.4%

South Africa's retail sales recovered unexpectedly in November after falling in the previous two months, largely led by more demand for household furniture, appliances and equipment, textiles, clothing, footwear and leather goods, data from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.

Retail sales rose 0.4 percent year-on-year in November, reversing a 0.7 percent decline in October. Meanwhile, economists had forecast a 0.2 percent decrease.

Sales of household furniture, appliances and equipment grew the most by 6.0 percent over the year, closely followed by textiles, clothing, footwear, and leather goods with a 5.9 percent gain.

On the other hand, sales of hardware, paint, and glass showed a decline of 6.5 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 1.1 percent in November after a 0.3 percent gain in the prior month. This was the third consecutive monthly increase.

In the three months to November, retail sales dropped 0.1 percent from the preceding three months.