HANOI, Sept. 11 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam's total retail sales of goods and consumer services were estimated at 4.58 quadrillion Vietnamese dong (about 173.4 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, up 9.4 percent from the same period last year, Vietnam News Agency cited the National Statistics Office as saying on Thursday.
Retail sales of goods were estimated at 3.45 quadrillion dong during the period, making up 76.3 percent of the total retail and service revenue, according to the report.
Accommodation and food service revenue was estimated at 552.4 trillion dong, accounting for 12.1 percent of the total and rising 14.7 percent year on year, said the office.
In August alone, retail sales of consumer goods and services reached 588.2 trillion dong, up 10.6 percent year on year.
The surge was driven by strong consumer spending during celebrations marking the country's 80th anniversary of the August Revolution and National Day, the state-owned media reported. (1 dong equals 0.000038 U.S. dollars) ■
