Retail sales in Chile increased 0.7 percent year-on-year in February 2019, following a flat reading in the previous month. Sales rebounded for fuels (0.9 percent from -4.6 percent in January); and food (0.2 percent from -0.2 percent). Additionally, sales declined less for automotive vehicles (-1.8 percent from -10.8 percent); clothing, footwear & accessories (-2.1 percent from -3.1 percent) and construction materials, tools, hardware & paint (-2.1 percent from -3.7 percent). Also, sales rose further for electronic equipment (4.2 percent vs 3.5 percent) and pharmacy, cosmetics & personal hygiene products (1.4 percent from 1.3 percent). Meanwhile, sales of spare parts, tires & automotive vehicles accessories advanced at a softer pace (2.7 percent from 11 percent). On a monthly basis, retail trade went down 4.5 percent, after a downwardly revised 26.4 percent decline in January. Retail Sales YoY in Chile averaged 6.46 percent from 2006 until 2019, reaching an all time high of 23.80 percent in April of 2010 and a record low of -5.10 percent in April of 2009.
Retail Sales YoY in Chile is expected to be 4.20 percent by the end of this quarter, according to Trading Economics global macro models and analysts expectations. Looking forward, we estimate Retail Sales YoY in Chile to stand at 2.50 in 12 months time. In the long-term, the Chile Retail Sales YoY is projected to trend around 3.70 percent in 2020, according to our econometric models.