Retail trade slows to 28.8% yoy in 1H08

Ukrainian retail trade increased 28.8% yoy in 1H08 in real terms, but was down from 30.2% yoy in 5M08, the State Statistics Committee reported yesterday. Andrii Parkhomenko: We believe that the slowdown in retail trade was caused by raised interest rates on retail loans. We stick to our forecast of retail trade growth at 25.5% yoy in 2008, given possible upcoming tightening on consumer lending conditions (on June 20 the National Bank announced that by the end of the summer it will establish a 100% reserve ratio for loans with no down payments, which account for 15-20% of all retail loans) and a high statistical base at yearend.