The trade turnover index registered an increase of 4.1% year-on-year, higher than the 2.9% growth observed in April, the National Statistics Institute reported this Friday.
Retail trade experienced year-on-year growth of 2.8% in May, an improvement on the 1.8% increase in the previous month. This growth was driven by an acceleration in sales of food products, which rose 5.6%, while non-food products went from a slight reduction in April (-0.1%) to a growth of 1% in May.
Wholesale trade saw an increase of 3.9%, compared to 4.5% in the previous month. The sector of commerce, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles stood out with a growth of 8.1%, a recovery in relation to the increase of 0 .6% observed in April.
In nominal terms, the year-on-year rate of change in the total trade index was 3.3% in May, compared to 1% in April. Specifically, trade, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles and retail trade recorded increases of 9.2% and 3.6%, respectively.
Wholesale trade increased by 1.4%, recovering from a reduction of 0.7% in the previous month, says INE.
The monthly variation of the total index stood at 1.4%, contrasting with the zero variation observed in April. In sectoral detail, trade, maintenance and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles increased by 5.6%, wholesale trade rose by 1%, and retail trade changed by 0. 3%.
Employment and wage indices in the commerce sector also showed positive changes in May, with increases of 1.3% and 7.4%, respectively. However, the index of hours worked showed a decrease of 0.2%, after a growth of 1.7% in April.
