The volume of retail trade at constant prices rose by 3.9% in the third quarter, down from 6.3% growth in the second quarter. In January-September the volume of retail trade was 3.2% higher than a year earlier (or 1.8% higher at current prices), increasing the likelihood that the biggest sector by value added of the Montenegrin economy will have made a modest positive contribution to real GDP growth in 2010.

Transport and telecommunications-the second-biggest sector after retail trade-produced mixed results in the third quarter. While road transport of goods and people shrank by 20% and 12.5% year on year, respectively, air transport of freight soared by 177.2% and of people by 22.5%, continuing the good results of the previous quarter. Rail transport of goods rose by 34% year on year in the third quarter, while rail passenger traffic contracted by 5.2%. Sea transport of goods declined by 6.7% in the third quarter. Telecommunications recorded a strong quarter, with one of the key indicators, the number of minutes used in mobile telephone calls, up by 8.5% compared with the third quarter of 2009.