Norwegian retail sales fall sequentially in October

Norwegian retail sales have been soft since the summer; however, consumption figures have been rather strong as far as third quarter.

In October, Norway’s retail sales dropped 0.2 percent sequentially, as compared with consensus expectations of a rise of 0.6 percent. During spring, retail sales had grown strongly but have dropped sharply since July. It is just 1 percent above the level at the start of the year and October last year. It provides a softer picture of retail sales than anticipated.

Despite the decline in retail sales, consumption of services grew a healthy 0.6 percent. The figure released today could indicate that the fourth quarter began on a weak note; however, Christmas shopping in November and December might decide where consumption of goods ends in the fourth quarter, noted Nordea Bank in a research report.

Rising employment, falling jobless rate and positive growth in real wages might guarantee continued healthy growth in private consumption. There are no signs that a slightly weaker housing market has had any effect on consumer sentiment, which has picked up.

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