National retail sales rise 11.4% in two months

The total value of retail sales for goods and services in February was estimated at over VND276 trillion (US$12.97 billion), up 3.7% over the previous month, lifting the total retail sales in the first two months of this year to over VND542.6 trillion (US$25.5 billion), a year-on-year increase of 11.4%.

Photo for Illustration (Photo: Thai Thien).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MOIT), the trade sector posted a retail sales value of around VND413.2 trillion (US$19.4 billion) in two months, up 10.6% over the same period last year, accounting for nearly 76.2% of the total national retail sales value.

Meanwhile, the hotel and restaurant sector reported a value of VND64.2 trillion (US$3 billion) in two months, a year-on-year increase of 12.5%, making up 11.8% of the total retail sales value.

The service sector recorded a value of VND60.6 trillion (US$2.84 billion), up 16.5% over the corresponding period last year and contributed 11.2% to the total value. The tourism sector saw a small rise of 0.4% against the same period last year, occupying 0.8% of the total value.

The consumer price index in February went down by 0.05% compared to January, which was mainly due to the declines in oil and petrol prices, but up 0.34% over the same period last year.

(Source: nhandan.org.vn)