In nominal terms, retail trade rose 2.3 per cent on the year.
Four macroeconomists polled by Hina predicted that consumption in April would drop 1.3 per cent on the year in real terms, with their forecasts ranging from a negative 3.8 per cent to a positive 0.8 per cent.
April was the 14th consecutive month in which consumption declined, but slower than in March, when the year-on-year decline was 2.1 per cent.
On the month, retail trade declined 0.4 per cent in real terms.