Retail sales growth accelerates 9.7% y-o-y in August

In August, retail sales grew 9.7% y-o-y in real terms (vs. +9.2% y-o-y in July), the State Statistics Committee reported yesterday. In 8M10 retail sales were up 4.6% after tumbling 16.6% in real terms in 2009. Accelerating retail sales in 2010 suggest a recovery in domestic consumer demand, although we still see risks this trend might not continue in coming months under accelerating inflation (to 8.3% y-o-y in August) and deceleration in real salary growth.