Colombia says retail sales rose 15.4% in June on year

Colombia’s retail sales in June rose 15.4% from a year earlier, the government’s statistics institute, known as DANE, said Wednesday.

The increase was led by sales of cars and motorcycles, which rose 63.5%, and sales of home computers, which rose 34.6%. The decreases were for sales of liquor and cigarettes, which fell 4% on-year, and sales of medicine, which dropped 0.4%.

Retail sales over the first six months of the year rose 9.8% from the same period in 2009.

In May, Colombia’s retail sales expanded 13.9% year on year.

Retail sales dropped 2.7% in 2009 from 2008.

DANE said employment in the retail sector rose 2.1% in June from the same month in 2009. (Darcy Crowe / Dow Jones Newswires)