Weekly Report - 18 November 2003

URUGUAY | Signs of upturn multiply. Perhaps the most encouraging sign of an upturn after four years of recession was the fact that retail sales in the third quarter were running 4.7% higher than a year earlier (even though the figure for the first three quarters remained below that of 2002). Heading the QIII increase were domestic appliances (up 77%), hardware (58%) and hotel services (32%).