Domestic wholesale trade slips 6.1% in Q2 as construction material sales slide
Construction supplies trade fell by 14.9%.
Domestic wholesale trade contracted by 6.1% in the second quarter of 2014 compared to the same period last year, data released by the Department of Statistics revealed today.
Metals, timber, and construction materials led the decline, sliding 14.9% year-on-year and 15.8% quarter-on-quarter. Petroleum and petroleum products were the second biggest losers with a 9.5% year-on-year decline and 2.7 quarter-on-quarter.
Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade declined 1.6%. After removing the price effect, overall domestic wholesale trade decreased 1.6% over the previous quarter.
“Domestic wholesale trade contracted by 2.2% in second quarter 2014 over first quarter 2014. Excluding petroleum, domestic wholesale trade declined 1.6%. After removing the price effect, overall domestic wholesale trade decreased 1.6% over the previous quarter,” noted the Department of Statistics.