MADRID, 7 (EUROPA PRESS)

The level of merchandise stocks in the trade sector registered an interannual increase of 12.2% in the second quarter, a rate 3.9 points lower than that of the previous quarter and the least pronounced in a year, according to the conjunctural survey on stocks and stocks (ECSE) published this Thursday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).

With the rebound in the second quarter, the stock of merchandise in commerce accumulates eight quarters of positive interannual rates, the highest in this period being that of the fourth quarter of 2022 (19.8%).

The greatest increase in stock in the second quarter was experienced by the sale and repair of motor vehicles, with a year-on-year rise of 28.1%, followed by wholesale trade (10.4%) and retail trade (7.4%). .

The INE also provides information on how the level of stocks in trade evolved in each of the months of the second quarter (April, May and June) in interannual rates.

In April 2023, the stock of merchandise in the sector rebounded by 13.4% compared to the same month in 2022, while in May it increased by 12.5% ​​year-on-year and in June, 10.8%, its lowest year-on-year increase since April 2022.

All sectors presented year-on-year increases in the months corresponding to the second quarter, being the sale and repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles the most pronounced, higher than 25% in all months of the quarter.

For its part, the most moderate interannual increases in each month of the second quarter occurred in retail trade, with interannual increases in its stock of 8% in April, 8.3% in May and 5.8% in June.