Moldova’s retail sales rebound in Q1

Moldova’s retail sales rebound in Q1
By bne IntelliNews May 23, 2018

Moldova’s retail sales in constant prices (not including automobiles) increased by 5.0% y/y in Q1, after they contracted by 4.5% y/y in 2017, the statistics bureau announced.

The volume of services delivered to households in Q1, measured in comparable prices, increased by 5.8% y/y after a negative performance last year.

Retail sales of automobiles increased at a moderate rate of 1.7% y/y in Q1, in constant prices. It was a positive performance though (despite the high CPI inflation of some 7% y/y) because the local currency strengthened versus the euro — the currency of denomination for the car market.

Households’ incomes seem to have increased at stronger rates in Q1, compared to the 2.2% real y/y average advance in 2017 (no Q1 wage or income data is available yet). The income tax collected by the government in Q1 also rose by 10.6% y/y, witnessing a robust advance of wages. The volume of gross transfers from abroad to Moldovan households (mainly wage remittances) increased by 20% y/y to $319mn in Q1, after a 13% y/y advance posted in Q1 2017, according to data published by the central bank.

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