Index of wholesale and retail sales, April 2005

The sales index for March and April is difficult to compare with other months in 2004 due to Easter.

The seasonally adjusted index takes the placeing of Easter into account, but it is difficult to correct for Easter shopping. The seasonally adjusted index for March and April is therefore more uncertain than the seasonally adjusted indices for the other months.

The volume index not adjusted increased by 8.1 per cent in April 2005 compared with April 2004. Retail sales of new goods in specialized stores increased by 19.3 per cent this period. Sales of new goods in specialized stores include clothing, shoes, electrical goods, furniture and building materials. Retail sales in non-specialized stores, which mainly include food stores, decreased by 1.5 per cent from April 2004 to April 2005.

The total value index of retail sales increased by 6.6 per cent in this period.

International comparison

A comparison of turnover for retail trade, seasonally adjusted, shows that Sweden had an increase from February to March 2005 by 2.2 per cent while in Denmark and Norway there was a decrease by 0.3 and 3.2 per cent respectively this period. From March 2004 to March 2005 the value index not adjusted, rose by 5.3 per cent in Denmark and 4.3 per cent in Sweden while in Norway there was a decrease by 1.8 per cent.