S. Korea's retail sales up 4.6 pct in September

By Lee Joon-seung
SEOUL, Nov. 5 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's retail sales grew 4.6 percent annually in
September as consumers spent more on car fuel, groceries and recreational
products, a government report showed Wednesday.

Total retail sales volume reached 20.99 trillion won (US$16.52 billion) in the
cited month, compared with 20.08 trillion won a year earlier, according to the
report by the National Statistical Office (NSO).
Total sales also grew from 20.22 trillion won tallied for the month before,
although year-on-year growth numbers fell noticeably from the 10.4 percent climb
tallied in August and 12.3 percent reached in July.
Sales of car fuel jumped 18.4 percent mainly due to higher prices, while those
for groceries and recreational products gained 4.3 percent and 9.9 percent
respectively, the report said.
yonngong@yna.co.kr
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