Official statistics: Jan - May 2019 wholesale turnover up 8 pct YoY

The wholesale turnover (except for trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) for the interval January - May 2019 was up 8.9 percent from the same period of the year before as a raw series, and 8.7 up YoY as workday and seasonally adjusted series, according to data released on Wednesday by the National Institute of Statistics (INS). 

Growth, expressed as raw series, was the effect of rising figures in wholesales of consumer goods other than food (+13.5 pct), wholesales of IT and telecommunications equipment (+11.3 pct), non-specialized wholesales (+10.4 pct), wholesales of unprocessed agricultural products and livestock (+9.2 pct), wholesale trade in other machinery, equipment and supplies (+6.8 pct), specialized wholesales of other products (+6 pct), and wholesales of food, beverages and tobacco (+5.8 pct). Wholesale trade intermediation dipped 0.5 pct. 

Compared to the previous month, in May 2019 the wholesale turnover was 4.9 pct higher as a result of the increase in sales of other machinery, equipment and supplies (+ 22.8 pct), non-specialized wholesales (+14.6 pct), wholesales of non-food products (+6.9), specialised wholesales of other products (+4 pct), wholesales of unprocessed agricultural products and livestock (+3.2 pct), wholesales of food, beverages and tobacco (+1.3 pct), and wholesale intermediation activities (+ 0.8 pct). Wholesales of IT and telecommunications equipment were down by 9 pct. 

Expressed as workday and seasonally adjusted series, the wholesale turnover this May was 0.7 pct lower compared to April 2019. 

In a YoY comparison, the wholesale turnover in May 2019 was up 4.6 pct in nominal terms as an effect of the advance in non-specialised wholesales (+15.5 pct), wholesales of non-foods (+14.5 pct), wholesales of other machinery, equipment and supplies (+13.1 pct), wholesales of unprocessed agricultural products and livestock (+10.2 pct), wholesales of IT and telecommunications equipment (+7.6 pct) and wholesales of food, beverages and tobacco (+1.3 pct). Wholesale trade dropped 7.1 pct and the specialised wholesale of other products decreased by 4.7 pct. 

Expressed as workday and seasonally adjusted series, the wholesale turnover (except for trade in motor vehicles and motorcycles) was 4.7 pct up this May compared to May 2018.