source: www.dailystar.com.lb

Retail sales fell 14.40 percent in the first quarter of 2013, the results of the Beirut Traders Association-Fransabank Retail Index showed. “While the nominal figure for the first quarter of this year posts a decrease of about 3.7 percent in comparison with the first quarter of 2012, the real figure shows an acute fall that stands at minus 14.4 percent,” a joint statement said.

The Beirut Traders Association estimated the consumer price index was 11 percent higher in the first quarter of 2013 then the same quarter last year.

The country’s strained politics remain the major reason behind the decline in retail activity, the report said.

“The positive effects of the nomination of Mr. Tamam Salam to form a new cabinet were short-lived, and were soon reversed to the worst in light of the absence of the formation of any new government,” it said.

The conflict in neighboring Syria has also been a major cause behind the decline in retail sales.

“Lebanese households appear to have maintained – if not further strengthened, their sharp restraint in spending, for basic commodities as well as durable goods,” it said.

The most noticeable declines were witnessed for pharmaceuticals, clothing, construction material, beverages and food products, the report said.

“The only sector that was so far unaffected by the declining consumption trend – namely the petroleum sector, has witnessed during the first quarter of 2013 a drop of approximately 3.5 percent,” the report said.

image: www.themonarchhouse.com