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Polish retail sales down 1.3% y/y in June: stats office

21.07.2020 10:30
Retail sales in Poland inched down 1.3 percent in June at constant prices compared with the same month a year earlier, the country’s Central Statistical Office (GUS) said on Tuesday.
Photo:
Photo:PAP/Darek Delmanowicz

As the world struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, sales of fuels fell by 10.9 percent in Poland last month in year-on-year terms, and those of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics went down by 8.6 percent, the state-run statistics agency reported.

Among other goods, sales of food, beverages and tobacco products decreased by 5 percent, while sales of furniture, household appliances and consumer electronics rose by 16.1 percent, according to the Central Statistical Office.

In terms of current prices, retail sales last month were 1.9 percent lower than in June 2019, the statistics office also said.

It added that, in month-on-month terms, retail sales in June were 8.4 percent higher than in May.

Poland in mid-March temporarily closed its borders to non-residents in a move to curb the spread of the COVID-19 disease.

In another move to contain the epidemic, the government limited the operations of shopping malls and closed all pubs, clubs and entertainment venues.

The lockdown affected many businesses and service providers.

Some restrictions were relaxed in April, and hotels and shopping malls were allowed to reopen in early May as the country moved to the next phase of easing its coronavirus lockdown.

Restaurants, bars and cafes were allowed to reopen to customers later that month with new safety protocols in place.

In another move to ease coronavirus measures, the government lifted restrictions on how many people can gather in places such as retail outlets and restaurants though face coverings and social distancing are still required.

As the economy emerges from the coronavirus lockdown, industrial production in the country edged up in June after a severe slump earlier this year, according to the Polish statistics office.

(gs)

Source: PAP