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4.5.3 Retail sector dynamics
The contraction in retail sales deepened in November as sales growth slipped from -1.4% y/y in October (revised from -2.4% y/y) to -3.1% y/y, its weakest reading since May, Rosstat reported on December 18.
“This was driven by both food and non-food sales and comes amid the general tightening of virus containment measures in major cities over the past month or so. The further rise in COVID-19 cases and tightening of some restrictions in key regions means that sales are likely to fall further in December,” Capital Economics said in a note.
The drop in retail turnover comes as the economy slows since September after recovering fast in the summer after the lockdown restrictions were lifted.
The drop in retail also comes as inflation suddenly picked up in the last two months to hit 3.1% in November, up from a post-Soviet low in the middle of the year of 1.7%.
In general the recovery from the bounce back seen in the last months of the summer seems to have stalled as the second wave of the coronacrisis gather momentum.
66 RUSSIA Country Report January 2021 www.intellinews.com
