2017.10.1807:19:00UTC+00South Africa Retail Sales Growth Exceeds Forecast

South Africa's retail sales growth accelerated at a faster-than-expected pace in August, preliminary figures from Statistics South Africa showed on Wednesday.

Retail sales grew 5.5 percent year-over-year in August, well above the 1.6 percent rise in the previous month. Economists had expected the growth to improve to 2.7 percent.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco in specialized stores advanced 5.7 percent annually in August and those of household furniture, appliances and equipment surged by 9.0 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rebounded 2.4 percent from July, when it decreased by 0.7 percent.