This growth was driven by a significant increase in retail sales, which surged by 25.1% year-on-year.

Looking at specific sectors, wholesale and retail trade along with motor vehicle and motorcycle repair saw the highest annual growth at 15.4%, followed by retail trade alone at 25.1%. Wholesale trade showed a more modest increase of 5.7%.

On a monthly basis, trade sales volume rose by 2.3% in February compared to January. Retail sales again led the way with a monthly increase of 3.5%, while wholesale trade grew by 1.6%. (ILKHA)