Retail sales in Serbia increased 5.9 percent year-on-year in May of 2019, easing from a 6.7 percent rise in the previous month. It was the lowest annual gain in retail trade since January, as sales increased at a softer pace for food, beverages and tobacco (5.1 percent from 8.1 percent in April) and non-food products (8 percent from 8.1 percent) while those of automotive fuel advanced faster (4 percent from 1 percent). On a monthly basis, retail trade edged up 0.1 percent, after a 2.5 percent jump in the prior April. Considering the January to April period, retail trade advanced 8.2 percent. Retail Sales YoY in Serbia averaged 5.10 percent from 2003 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 35.67 percent in June of 2005 and a record low of -21.30 percent in July of 2011.
Retail Sales YoY in Serbia is expected to be 4.10 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales YoY in Serbia to stand at 3.60 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Serbia Retail Sales YoY is projected to trend around 4.10 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.