Unadjusted data show even larger growth of 0.8 percent compared to September 2012. The Government measures aimed at easing the burden on households, higher wages in real terms, employment rate which hit a 20-year high and improving consumer confidence have been contributing to the multi-month upward trend of retail sales.

As far as retail divisions are concerned, sales of food, beverages and tobacco products were up by 0.4 percent, below the 1.2 percent growth of July, while sales of non-food products were unchanged in September. On the other hand, the volume of sales regarding fuels increased once again significantly, by 3.1 percent.

Source: Ministry for National Economy