Eased in November, but likely to accelerate in December on festive spending
Distributive trade sales moderated to 4.7% YoY (Oct: 5.5%) after an uptick in the previous month
- MoM growth: fell by 0.5% (Oct: 1.3%), the slowest in two months.
- Sales value: Fell slightly to RM149.3b (Oct: RM150.1b) after hitting a record high the prior month.
A broad-based slowdown led by a sharp moderation in retail trade
- Motor vehicles (1.4%; Oct: 2.7%): slower growth across sub-sectors, notably in sales, maintenance and repair (13.7%; Oct: 20.7%), parts and accessories (8.6%; Oct: 9.8%), and maintenance and repair (6.3%; Oct: 9.3%). Weak motor vehicle sales (-4.3%; Oct: -3.9%) due to a high base effect also weighed down on growth, with unit sales in November falling to 67.5k units (Nov 2023: 73.3k).
- Wholesale trade (4.7%; Oct: 4.8%): slightly lower growth, with moderation across sub-sectors partly offset by strong performance in agriculture, raw materials, and live animals (13.7%; Oct: 7.9%).
- Retail trade (5.8%; Oct: 7.1%): growth slowed due to a broad-based slowdown, led by a sharp slowdown in nonspecialised stores (5.5%; Oct: 8.5%) and food, beverages & tobacco (6.5%; Oct: 9.0%).
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