May retail sales result shows Czechs' confidence in the economy, analysts say

Retail sales grew faster in May than analysts had expected. According to data released today by the Czech Statistical Office, year-on-year growth accelerated to 4.7%, while the market had anticipated an increase of around 3%. Analysts say the figures suggest that Czech consumers were not overly concerned about the continuing impact of the war in the Middle East and instead remained confident, leading to increased spending, particularly on online purchases.

"It appears that Czech consumers recovered from the shock of the war in Iran very quickly. While they significantly cut back their spending in April, in May they confidently returned to their previous growth trajectory," said Vít Hradil, an analyst at Investika. According to Hradil, even fuel sales almost returned to their pre-war levels despite noticeably higher prices.