S.Korea June department & discount store sales rise on MERS effect

Hyundai Department Store Co

08/07/2016 02:00

SEOUL, July 8 (Reuters) - Sales at South Korea's top 
department and discount stores in June picked up, preliminary 
government data showed on Friday, rebounding from a drop in May 
thanks to a weak comparison base stemming from last year's 
Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) outbreak. 
    Combined sales at department stores run by Hyundai 
Department Store  069960.KS , Lotte Shopping  023530.KS  and 
Shinsegae Co  004170.LS  were estimated to have risen 13.5 
percent from a year earlier, the finance ministry said, which 
would mark the sharpest gain since April 2011.  
    This compared to a 2.7 percent fall in May and a 11.9 
percent drop in June 2015, when consumption was depressed by an 
outbreak of Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS). 
 urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N0ZO01C 
    Sales at discount stores in June rose 2.9 percent from a 
year earlier, according to the finance ministry, the strongest 
gain since January. Sales in June 2015 dropped 10.2 percent, hit 
by the MERS outbreak.  
    The trade ministry will publish finalised numbers and 
details later in the month. 
    The finance ministry said heightened uncertainties stemming 
from factors such as Brexit were slowing employment and delaying 
a recovery in economic sentiment, potentially constraining 
economic growth.  
 
 (Reporting by Se Young Lee; Editing by Eric Meijer) 
 ((vincentsy.lee@thomsonreuters.com; +822 3704 5646; Reuters 
Messaging: vincentsy.lee.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net; follow 
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Keywords: SOUTHKOREA ECONOMY/RETAIL