FX.co ★ Slovakia Retail Sales at 9-Month High

In September 2025, retail sales in Slovakia experienced a notable increase, rising by 1.4% year-on-year, a recovery from the 0.7% decline observed in the previous month. This surge signifies the strongest retail activity recorded since December 2024. The growth was primarily driven by improvements in specific sectors: sales of automotive fuel rose by 0.7% compared to 0.5% in August, and sales in specialized stores soared by 8.1%, up from 4.7%. Additionally, sales of ICT equipment showed a significant recovery, jumping to 12.5% from a decline of 2.9% previously. The decline in purchases also softened in other areas, such as food, beverages, and tobacco, which saw a decrease of 10.7%, better than the previous month's 14.7% drop. Other household equipment sales improved slightly, contracting by only 0.1% as opposed to 5.6%, and similarly, there was a less severe decline in trade occurring outside traditional store settings, which fell by 1.5% compared to a previous 12.5% drop. Conversely, the pace of sales growth for goods in non-specialized stores slowed to 0.7% from 4.4%. Sales of cultural and recreational goods continued to decline, worsening to -5.8% from -3.5%, while sales conducted through stalls and markets also saw a sharper decrease, falling by 21.7% from 10.8%. On a month-to-month basis, retail trade saw an increase of 1.6% in September, after remaining flat in the previous reporting period.