Norway records strong growth in retail sales and household goods consumption in May

Norway’s seasonally-adjusted volume index of retail sales grew 1.7 percent on sequential basis, following a growth of 0.1 percent in April, according to Statistics Norway. Expectations were for retail sales to grow by 0.5 percent. On a year-on-year basis, seasonally adjusted retail sales volume grew 2 percent. Meanwhile, retail sales, excluding motor vehicles and motorcycles and automotive fuel grew 1.6 percent m/m and 5.1 percent year-on-year.

Several industries recorded a rise in sales volume from April to May in 2016. According to Statistics Norway, contribution to the increase came particularly from grocery stores, sales of food and beverages in specialised stores and sales at petrol stations.

Grocery stores accounted for around 38 percent of the total turnover in retail sales. Meanwhile, ICT equipment, furniture, textiles, electrical household appliances registered a decline in May. Working-day adjusted figures show that retail sales decreased by 1.3 per cent in the period March-May this year compared to the same three-month period last year.

Meanwhile, the country’s household consumption of goods increased 0.8 percent on sequential basis in May, following the decline in the earlier three months. This index is the key indicator of private goods consumption in the national accounts. All consumption groups contributed positively, except consumption of electricity and heating fuels, stated Statistics Norway.

Both the monthly figures released on Wednesday are slightly volatile, while the trend growth remains low, noted DNB in a research report. Even if May’s data is strong, the development in household consumption continues to be moderate, consistent with deceleration of household income. Norway’s central bank, Norges Bank, had forecast last week in its report that consumption growth would grow 1.5 percent year-on-year in 2016.