Retail trade in Indonesia increased 3.6 percent year-on-year in October 2019, following a 0.7 percent gain in the previous month. This was the fourth straight month increase in retail sales and the biggest growth since May, supported by sales of food, beverages & tobacco (6.7 percent vs 1.4 percent in September) while those of household equipment continued to rise (4.0 percent vs 11.1 percent). In addition, sales fell softer for: clothing (-8.6 percent vs -9.9 percent), information & communication equipment (-1.6 percent vs -4.1 percent). Meantime, sales dropped further for both fuel (-10.9 percent vs -10.2 percent) and cultural & recreational goods (-10.6 percent vs -9.8 percent). On a monthly basis, retail sales went up by 1.6 percent in October, the first monthly increase in five months.
