Page 39 - RusRPTMar20

One of the proxies for the average nominal wage growth – namely personal income tax growth – appears at first glance to have decoupled from wage growth in December; however, considering the high historical volatility of the difference between wage and PIT growth rates, it fits within the historical standard deviation limits.
4.5.3​ Retail sector dynamics
There was strong growth in Russian consumer demand in January related to the jump in real income in December.​ The Russian economy’s consumer segment showed solid improvement in January 2020 – growth in retail sales accelerated to 2.7% y/y, volumes of residential housing rose 14.3% y/y and services to the population rose 1.9% y/y, according to Rosstat’s monthly report released on February 20.
Retail sales expanded on the back of both the food (+2.9% y/y) and non-food (+2.5% y/y) segments​. Details regarding the composition of the growth are yet to be published, but January Car Sales report shows Russia's car and LCV sales increased 2% y/y to 102,102 units in January, according to the Association of European Businesses.
39​ RUSSIA Country Report​ March 2020 ​ ​www.intellinews.com