Stockholm, Mar. 29, (dpa-AFX/GNA) - Sweden’s retail sales showed their worst performance in history, as sales of durable and consumer goods contracted sharply in February amid rising inflationary pressures, figures from Statistics Sweden showed on Wednesday.
Retail sales fell a working-day adjusted 9.4% year-on-year in February, faster than the 7.7% decrease in January. Sales have been falling since May 2022. Further, this was the most pronounced decline since the series began in 1992.
Sales of durable goods slumped 10.9% annually in February, and those of consumables, excluding sales at the state-owned chain of liquor stores, slid 8.3%.
On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped 1.2% in February versus a 0.2% fall in January. Sales decreased for the third straight month.
GNA