South Africa: Recession probably avoided as South African retail trade sales surprisingly surge in June

South African consumers hit the shops in June and beat the winter blues with a dose of retail therapy. 

Data unveiled on Wednesday by Statistics South Africa show retail trade sales in June grew by a larger-than-expected 4.1% on a year-on-year basis, exceeding a Bloomberg consensus forecast of just 1.0% growth. 

On a monthly basis, sales increased by 1.6% in June compared with May when they dipped 0.2% from April. It all adds up to a seasonally adjusted rise of 1.5% in the second quarter…