Indonesia's retail sales declined for the first time in fifteen months in January, but retailers expected sales to recover sharply in February amid continued strong expansion in sales of food, beverages and tobacco group, and clothing, the results of a survey by Bank Indonesia showed on Thursday.
Retail sales dropped 0.6 percent year-on-year in January, reversing a 0.7 percent gain in the previous month. This was the first decline since October 2021.
Sales of other household equipment fell the most by 11.5 percent over the year, closely followed by motor vehicle fuels with 11.3 percent decrease.
On a monthly basis, retail sales dropped 4.4 percent in January versus a 7.0 percent increase in December. The monthly decline was last seen in September 2022.
Retailers predicted sales to grow 2.6 percent annually in February. The rebound is expected on the back of strong demand for food, beverage and tobacco products along with clothing.?
Nonetheless, retailers expect a 1.4 percent further monthly decline in the middle of the first quarter.
