Czech Inflation Rises To 1.7% In July; Retail Sales Growth Eases

(RTTNews) - Czechia's consumer price inflation accelerated somewhat as expected in July from a 4-month low in the previous month, while retail sales grew at a slower pace in June, separate reports from the Czech Statistical Office showed on Wednesday.

Consumer prices climbed 1.7 percent year-over-year in July, faster than the 1.5 percent increase in June, flash data revealed.

The deflation in food and non-alcoholic beverages eased to 3.1 percent from 3.4 percent in June. Inflation based on services rose to 4.7 percent from 4.5 percent. Energy costs, including motor fuels, decreased at a slower pace of 0.3 percent versus 1.0 percent a month ago.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices moved up 0.6 percent in July, while the expected increase was 0.7 percent.

Retail sales, except for motor vehicles and motorcycles, rose a calendar-adjusted 3.6 percent year-on-year in June, slower than the 4.8 percent increase in May. In April, sales growth was only 0.8 percent.

The annual sales growth in non-food products softened to 2.1 percent from 3.0 percent, and that in non-food items slowed to 5.4 percent from 7.6 percent. Sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores logged a renewed increase of 0.3 percent.

Compared to the previous month, retail sales dropped 0.1 percent.