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Retail Sales Gains Speed as Cement and Motorcycle Sectors Take a Hit

From Jakarta Globe
March 10, 2015

In January, Indonesia’s retail sales picked up pace on the back of sales of information and communication equipment, as well as food, beverages and tobacco. Bank Indonesia survey showed on Tuesday, January’s retail sales accelerated to 10.4 percent from a 3.3 percent growth pace in December.

The central bank revised December retail sales from an initial 4.3 percent. The poll, which surveyed more than 650 retailers in 10 major cities, found that respondents expect sales to continue to accelerate in February.  Retail, motorcycle and cement sales were used to gauge the strength of domestic consumption, which accounts for a half of the country’s $850 billion economy.

Domestic cement sales declined by 8.2 percent year-on-year to 4.13 million metric tons in February, data from Indonesia Cement Association (ASI) showed. ASI chairman Widodo Santoso attributed the decline to heavy rain that disrupted distribution and weakened commodity prices, which in turn placed pressure on consumers’ ability to buy cement.

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