Wholesale, retail trade sales value rises to RM98.1 bln in October 2017

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s wholesale and retail trade sales value rose nine per cent to RM98.1 billion in October 2017 as compared to the corresponding period in 2016.

In a statement yesterday, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) chief statistician, Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin, said the sales value consisted of wholesale trade valued at RM48.5 billion, retail trade (RM37.8 billion) and motor vehicles (RM11.8 billion).

The positive growth was contributed by the retail trade and wholesale trade businesses, he said.

“Volume index of the wholesale and retail trade improved 7.1 per cent to 160.8 per cent in October 2017 against October 2016, supported by the increase in retail trade of 8.5 per cent and wholesale trade of 7.6 per cent,” said Mohd Uzir.

The seasonally adjusted volume index of the wholesale and retail trade increased by 1.7 per cent as compared to the preceding month.

On the breakdown, Mohd Uzir said the volume index of wholesale trade grew 7.6 per cent to 175.8 points in October 2017 as compared with October 2016.

Month-on-month, the seasonally adjusted volume index however recorded negative growth of 0.4 per cent against the previous month.

For the retail trade business, volume index rose 8.5 per cent year-on-year to 160.2 points in October 2017, while the seasonally adjusted retail trade volume index recorded an increase of 2.4 per cent compared to September 2017, he said.

Meanwhile, Mohd Uzir said the volume index of motor vehicles grew 0.1 per cent to 123.2 points in October 2017, while the seasonally adjusted volume index increased 5.7 per cent in October 2017 against September 2017. — Bernama