The value of retail sales in February, provisionally estimated at $12.7 billion, decreased by 12.4% compared with last year.

The Census & Statistics Department said that after netting out the effect of price changes over the same period, the overall volume of retail sales decreased by 11.1% in February from a year earlier.

The revised estimate on the value of total retail sales in January was $17.5 billion, representing an increase of 9.9% in value or 11.7% in volume as compared to a year earlier.

Meanwhile, the Government Secretariat said that by taking the first two months of 2003 together for comparing with the same period in 2002, so as to neutralise the Lunar New Year effect, the overall volume of retail sales recorded a small growth of 0.8%. This was an improvement from the declines observed in the earlier periods.

Sales of motor vehicles, and electrical goods and photographic equipment, had the fastest increases, at 25.5% and 20.2% respectively in volume for January and February combined.

Sales of miscellaneous consumer durable goods also rose 8.5% in volume. This was followed by sales of miscellaneous consumer goods (3%), wearing apparel (2.5%), food, alcohol and tobacco (1.8%), and footwear, allied products and other clothing accessories (0.8%).

However, sales of furniture and fixtures decreased 21.1% in January and February combined when compared with a year earlier.

Sales of fuel, jewellery, watches and clocks, and valuable gifts decreased 18% and 12.4% respectively in volume, while sales of commodities in supermarkets and in department stores also decreased 2.6% and 0.1% respectively.