HR: Retail trade grew 7.1% y/y in September

Retail trade maintained positive footprint as headline figure growth accelerated to 7.1% y/y in September (vs 5.7% y/y in August), thus beating our expectations (EBCe: 4.5% y/y). On a monthly level, retail trade was up 2.1%, where turnover of food products decreased by 3.5%, while the turnover of non-food products (except for automotive fuels and lubricants) increased 10.0%. Looking ahead, strong labor market trends, resilient consumer sentiment and vivid consumer credit should continue to back up consumption profile. On a quarterly level, retail trade posted 6.9% y/y increase, suggesting another supportive contribution to the GDP figure in 3Q24.