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Sales registered in the large stores of the Basque Country in December 2009 posted a nominal year-on-year increase of 7.8% in homogenous terms of the working calendar, according to Eustat data. The two main sectors performed differently in December. Sales of food products in the Basque Country registered a nominal year-on-year downturn of 0.5% and sales of other products rose by 12.7%.

Nominal sales rose in the three provinces: there was a 16.9% increase in Gipuzkoa (where the opening of new stores has to be taken into account), while there was a 2.8% increase in Álava and 4.6% in Bizkaia.

Compared to the previous month, November 2009, sales figures, once deseasonalized, showed a month-on month increase of 5.2% in current terms for the Basque Country overall. Sales in large stores in Álava posted a month-on-month increase of 4.4%, while they were up by 4.2% in December compared to November in Bizkaia and rose by 7.6% in Gipuzkoa, all of them in nominal terms.

Sales at large stores rose by 7.2% in constant terms

This fall in total sales meant that the two main sub-sectors performed very differently, once the price effect had been discounted. Sales of food products fell by 0.3%, while other products rose by 11.3% in constant terms.
In real terms, the large stores of Gipuzkoa posted positive year-on-year variations of 16.7%, while sales in Álava and Bizkaia rose by 2.4% and 3.8%, respectively.

Compared to the previous month, November 2009, sales at the large stores of the Basque Country rose by 5.1% in constant prices. The three provinces posted positive increases with respect to the previous month in real terms. In Álava, sales were by 4.2%, they also rose by 4.1% in Bizkaia for the same month-on-month period and the increase in Gipuzkoa came to 7.5% in constant euros with respect to November 2009.

The number of people employed in large stores was up by 2.8% in December 2009 with respect to November, once adjusted for seasonal effects. Gipuzkoa and Álava recorded positive variations (10.3% and 0.7%, respectively), but they were negative in Gipuzkoa(-0.1%).

Annual balance for 2009

Sales at large stores in the Basque Country experienced a nominal fall of 0.8% over the twelve months of 2009 with respect to the same period of the previous year. After the price effect has been discounted, this becomes a real rate of -0.4%, always in homogeneous terms of the working calendar.

By provinces, the accumulated overall performances for 2009 were as follows: sales fell by 4.4% in Álava, by 1.2% in Bizkaia, but rose by 2.2% in Gipuzkoa in nominal terms. In real terms, they were down -3,7% in Álava, -0,8% in Bizkaia, while there was a 2,4% increase in Gipuzkoa.