Indonesia’s retail sales plunge to lowest point since 2008
Indonesia’s retail sales index shrank by 20.6 percent in May, the biggest reduction since 2008, mostly due to plunging clothes sales and cultural and recreational spending, according to a survey by the Bank Indonesia (BI).
A street in Jakarta on April 1 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA)
Jakarta (VNA) – Indonesia’s retail sales indexshrank by 20.6 percent in May, the biggest reduction since 2008, mostly due toplunging clothes sales and cultural and recreational spending, according to asurvey by the Bank Indonesia (BI).
The contraction was deeper than the 16.9 percent recorded inApril, following the introduction of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) inApril and May to curb the spread of COVID-19.
The central bank projected the drop to slow to 14.4 percentin June thanks to higher sales of food and beverage, as well as vehicle fuels,as the country gradually reopened its economy.
According to the survey, spending on clothes andrecreational services in May fell by 74 percent and 53.7 percent on year, respectively.
The Indonesian government expects full-year growth to reachonly 1 percent under a baseline scenario or to contract 0.4 percent under aworst-case scenario.
Indonesia recorded its lowest GDP growth in 19 years in thefirst quarter at 2.97 percent, with the COVID-19 outbreak pressuring people tostay at home, thereby disrupting economic activity.
The central bank projected the retail sales index in thesecond quarter to contract 17.3 percent annually, compared to the contractionof 1.9 percent in the first quarter./.
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A street in Jakarta on April 1 (Photo: Xinhua/VNA) 
