The survey of the Indonesian central bank, Bank Indonesia, showed on Wednesday that the country's retail sales steeply dropped by 20.6 percent in May annualized, the lowest level since October 2008, compared with 16. 9 percent in April.
The sales on all groups of items surveyed edged down in May with the steeper shrinkage on the sales of fashion products and recreational spending.
The survey forecast that the downturn would slow to 14.4 percent in June.
Should the projection be justified, it suggests that the downturn in retail sales should have touched its bottom in May.
The real sector of the economy has gradually picked up since June as mall shopping centers started getting back to operations in the month under tight health protocols along with easing of restrictions which had limited people's mobility and halted consumption.
The steep fall of sales in May was in line with the core inflation figure in the month which came down significantly to 2.65 percent annualized from 2.85 percent in April, data from the National Agency of Statistics showed.
The COVID-19 has killed 3,309 people across Indonesia and infected 66,226 others, according to the Health Ministry.
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