In September retail sales accelerated to 3.9% y/y from 3.4% y/y reported in the previous month (market consensus: +4.6%, our forecast: +5.5%). The somewhat disappointing (considering the favorable working day difference) September reading is a result of very poor food sales. This has been the worst m/m growth of this category (insensitive to working days, by the way) since the Central Statistical Office started to publish retail sales figures using the latest sector breakdown (PKD2007). Excluding food and fuels, retail sales grew by 7.4% y/y in nominal terms and by 8.9% y/y in constant prices. Favorable trends stay intact, then.
