Wholesale, retail trade index up 7.6 per cent in second quarter 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: The index of the wholesale and retail trade increased 7.6 per cent to 155.6 points in the second quarter of 2017 (Q2 2017), compared with the same period in 2016, driven by growth in the retail trade sub-sector.

The Statistics Department in a statement yesterday said seasonally adjusted index of the wholesale and retail trade rose 2.7 per cent against Q1 2017, contributed by the retail trade and wholesale trade which improved 4.5 per cent and 2.8 per cent, respectively.

The wholesale trade sub-sector index increased 5.9 per cent to 165.9 points year-on-year (y-o-y) driven mainly by other specialised wholesale (7.5 per cent), wholesale of agricultural raw materials and livestock ( 7.3 per cent) and wholesale of machinery, equipment and supplies (6.2 per cent).

Meanwhile, the retail trade subsector, which surged 11.5 per cent to 157.5 points y-o-y, was spurred by the retail sale of other goods in specialised stores (13.5 per cent), retail sale of non-specialised stores (12.7 per cent) and retail sale of information and communication equipment in specialised stores (12.5 per cent).

The department also said index of the motor vehicles subsector, which includes parts and accessories, grew 0.8 per cent to 124.7 points in Q2 2017 against the same quarter last year, primarily driven by growth in the sale of motor vehicle parts and accessories ( 3.6 per cent) and maintenenance and repair of motor vehicles (3.3 per cent). — Bernama SHORT-TERM interbank rates closed steady yesterday on Bank Negara Malaysia’s (BNM) intervention to absorb excess liquidity from the financial system.

The liquidity surplus in the conventional system declined to RM30.60 billion from RM38.59 billion in the morning, while