Czech retail sales grow faster than wages

Czech retail sales on March grew by five percent year-on-year, as compared to 4.2 percent in February while the overall price level remained virtually the same. The Czech Statistical Office said the acceleration was mainly due to surging demand for groceries and petrol, but also clothing and household and gardening products.

Czech retail sales on March grew by five percent year-on-year, as compared to 4.2 percent in February while the overall price level remained virtually the same. The Czech Statistical Office said the acceleration was mainly due to surging demand for groceries and petrol, but also clothing and household and gardening products. Petrol stations reported a 14 percent growth of sales in March, sales in the other categories grew by around 10 percent. The latest data show that Czech consumers are quite optimistic despite a relatively low increase of real wages and no improvements on the labour market. One of the aspects that has helped boost sales is the strong Czech crown which works against inflation.