Indonesia retail sales contract in June but slower, central bank says

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Indonesia’s retail sales fell 17.1% in June year-on-year, slowing from the previous month’s contraction, a central bank survey showed on Tuesday.

Retail sales fell 20.6% on an annual basis in May.

There were improvements in purchases of fuel, food, beverages, and tobacco, as well as communication services.

The Bank Indonesia survey predicted sales to fall 12.3% in July, slowing the pace of decline further.

(Reporting by Tabita Diela; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman)