Press Release 08/05/2009

RETAIL TRADE INDEX (ICIm) 1st quarter 2009

Trade sector sales in the Basque Country were down by 6.7% in the first quarter of 2009

This decrease, discounting the effect of price rises, becomes a negative year-on-year rate of 7.5% in real terms.

The retail trade sector of the Basque Country registered a 6.7% drop in nominal sales in the first quarter of 2009 with regard to the same period of the previous year, according to Eustat data. This nominal increase, after discounting the effect of price rises, becomes a negative year-on-year rate of 7.5% in real terms.

Year-on-year real growth rates. Basque Country

Source: EUSTAT

Specialised retail trade decreased nominal sales by 8.4% in the first quarter of 2009, with regard to the same period in 2008. This nominal decrease becomes a negative rate of 9.0% in real terms, as the result of the price evolution in its different sub-sectors.

Non-specialised retail trade dropped by 3.0% in nominal terms during the first quarter of this year. Taking the evolutions of its prices into account, the estimated fluctuation of the real year-on-year rate was down 4.6% with respect to the same quarter of 2008.

Specialised retail trade saw the greatest year-on-year decrease in the Personal Equipment Sector, which registered a 13.9% nominal fall, which in real terms was a drop of 14.9%. However, Food products performed more discretely, and was down by 10.1% in current euros and by 11.9% in constant euros. The sales of Other Consumer Goods dropped by 7.9% in nominal terms, which was down by 10.0% in real terms.

The sales of Personal Equipment products dropped by 3.0% in nominal terms that becomes a 1.2% decrease in real terms.



As far as non-specialised retail trade was concerned, year-on-year sales of the food sub-sectors fell by 3.1%, while those coming under Other Products were down by 3.0%. In constant euros, they fell by 4.6% and 4.2%, respectively.

By Provinces, the greatest drop, in the first quarter of 2009, in retail sector nominal sales was in Álava, with a 7.4% year-on-year decrease, with specialised retail trade sales falling by 9.0% and non-specialised retail trade sales by 3.6%..

Gipuzkoa witnessed a 6.8% drop in retail sales, where specialised retail trade sales were down by up by 7.7% and non-specialised sales by 4.9%

Bizkaia recorded a similar evolution to Gipuzkoa in terms of retail sales, which were down by 6.5%. However, there were differences in the two components, with specialist retail sales up by 8.6% and non-specialist sales down by 1.9%, always in terms of the nominal year-on-year fluctuations.

In the whole of the Basque Country, the number of people employed in the retail trade sector in the first quarter of 2009 was down by 2.3% on the first quarter of 2008.

For further information:

Basque Statistics Office C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz Tlf:+34-945-01 75 00 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 E-mail: eustat@eustat.es Contact: Javier Aramburu Irizar Tel:+34-945-01 75 06 Fax:+34-945-01 75 01 Online press releases: www.eustat.es Databank: www.eustat.eus/bancopx/english/indice.aspx