North Macedonia Retail Sales Growth Quickens

North Macedonia's retail sales rose 7.3% year-on-year in May 2026, accelerating from 2.1% in April. The strongest growth came from automotive fuel sales, which surged 36.2% after a 14.7% increase in the previous month. Retail sales excluding fuel rose 6.0%, slightly easing from 6.2%. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco accelerated to 15.0% from 9.1%, while non-food sales excluding fuel fell 3.6%, reversing a 1.6% increase in April.

North Macedonia’s retail sales rose 2.1% year-over-year in April 2026, slowing sharply from March’s 8.1% surge. The deceleration was driven by a 19.4% plunge in fuel sales (from -0.1% in March) following a spike in energy costs linked to the Middle East war and the Strait of Hormuz closure. Growth also moderated for food, beverages, and tobacco (11.3% vs 12.7%) and non-food products (5.2% vs 8.2%).

Retail sales in North Macedonia rose 8.1% year-on-year in March 2026, picking up from a 4.4% gain in the previous month. This marked the largest increase since June 2026, driven by growth in sales of food, beverages, and tobacco (+12.7%) and non-food products, excluding fuel (+8.2%). Meanwhile, automotive fuel sales declined 0.1%. Excluding fuel trade, retail sales increased 11.2%. On a nominal basis, retail turnover grew 11.2% in March.