S. Korean retail sales slow down in June

Annual growth of sales at South Korea's major department stores and discount chains slowed down in June as the economy began to lose steam, a government report said Wednesday.

The combined sales of the nation's top three department stores grew 7.1 percent last month from a year earlier, compared with a 7.6 percent annual gain in May, according to the report by the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy.

Total sales at the nation's top three discount stores edged up a mere 0.9 percent annually in June, compared to a 2.6 percent increase the previous month.

The report was based on sales figures obtained from Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai department stores, as well the comparable figures from Lottemart, E-mart and Homeplus discount stores.

"An economic slowdown seems to have caused consumers to spend less in June from the previous month," said a ministry official who declined to be identified by name.

He said consumer confidence data tallied by the National Statistical Service for the month reflected this trend.

The index fell to 97.4 in June after an annual high of 104.5 in January. A reading below 100 indicates that a majority of consumers are pessimistic about the economy, their financial well-being and spending. After posting an estimated growth rate of 5.8 percent in the first half, the Korean economy is widely expected to lose momentum in the second six months of the year due to high oil prices, a strong won and a weak recovery in consumer spending.

The Bank of Korea, the nation's central bank, and private economic think tanks predict that Asia's fourth-largest economy will likely grow in the 4-percent range in the July-December period.

Seoul, July 19 (Yonhap News)