Turkey's retail trade volume rises 1.3 pct in August

By Tuba Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's calendar-adjusted retail sales volume with constant prices saw an annual rise of 1.3 percent in August, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on Wednesday.

Sales of drinks and tobacco and automotive fuel rose 4.9 percent and 1.3 percent, respectively during the same period, TurkStat said in a statement.

However, non-food sales -- excluding automotive fuel -- fell 0.5 percent in August compared to the same month last year.

But the institute said the volume of non-food sales by mail order and the Internet surged 22.9 percent year-on-year.

Over the same period, sales of medical goods and cosmetics climbed 20.5 percent while the textile, clothing and footwear sales volume was up 1.6 percent.

The electronic goods and furniture sales volume saw an annual fall of 10.9 percent in the month, and the sales volume of computers, books, and telecommunications equipment slipped 1.8 percent.

TurkStat also said the calendar-adjusted retail turnover with current prices jumped 20.3 percent in August from the same month last year.

It said the automotive fuel sales turnover saw the highest yearly rise in August with 27.9 percent, followed by annual turnover hikes in non-food and food/drinks/tobacco sales of 19 percent and 17.2 percent, respectively.