TIRANA, Dec. 23 – Retail sales registered a moderate increase of 6.4 percent in the third quarter of this year, hinting the Albanian economy has progressed after the slight GDP decline in the second quarter of the year.
Data published by the country’s state statistical institute INSTAT shows the volume of retail sales was up by 6.4 percent in the third quarter of 2014 year-on-year and rose by 8.5 percent compared to the second quarter of the year.
The volume of retail sales of “food, beverages and tobacco” in specialized and non-specialized stores was up by 10 percent compared to the third quarter of 2013, having the major impact on the positive performance of retail sales.
The volume of retail sales of “non-food products” in specialized and non-specialized stores excluding automotive fuel rose by 5 percent year-on-year.
Retail sales of automotive fuel in specialized units was up by 9.4 percent year-on-year and 13.3 percent compared to the previous quarter.
Short-term turnover statistics published by INSTAT ahead of the GDP for the second quarter of 2014 show the turnover index in industry, construction, trade and services grew by 8.7 percent year-on-year and was up by 10.3 percent compared to the second quarter of 2014.
The publication of retail sales comes ahead of the GDP for the third quarter of 2014 which INSTAT is scheduled to publish early next January.
Latest data published by the country’s state statistical institute, INSTAT, show the Albanian economy registered negative a growth rate of 0.61 in the second quarter of this year affected by poor performance in the long-ailing construction sector, transport and industry. The quarterly shrink which is the fifth since the onset of the global financial crisis in 2009, signals the road to recovery for the Albanian economy will be long and require key reforms.
The shrink in the second quarter of the year means the Albanian economy has grown by only 0.56 percent in the first half of 2014, which is the worst performance in the past six crisis years.
Newly revised data also shows the Albanian economy grew by an average of 2.6 percent annually during the 2009-2013 crisis years compared to a pre-crisis decade of an average 6 percent, being one of the best performers in the region, according to INSTAT.
