By Andrey Ostroukh
MOSCOW--Russian retail sales grew at a slower pace in October,
an indication that the economy is continuing to lose steam.
Figures released by the Federal Statistics Service Tuesday
showed that retail sales grew 3.8% in October compared to a year
ago, down from 4.4% in September. A slowdown in retail sales
indicates that consumer demand, dubbed by Russian authorities as "a
locomotive for economic growth", is weakening.
"The data speak for an economic slowdown...indicated by
declining consumer demand," said Alexander Morozov, chief economist
at HSBC in Moscow.
Russia's gross domestic product was 2.9% higher in the third
quarter than in the same period of 2011, its weakest expansion in
over two years.
To be sure, capital investments rose by 4.9% on the year after
declining 1.3% in September. That was a surprise after Russia's
industrial sector slowed down in October, and economists doubt it
was more than a one-off development.
"A rise in investments was...surprising but I don't think that
this is a steady trend and I don't expect more positive surprises,"
said Yulia Tsepliaeva, chief economist at BNP Paribas in
Moscow.
Capital investments were driven by housing completions that were
in turn fueled by mortgage lending growth.
Write to Andrey Ostroukh at andrey.ostroukh@dowjones.com