Italy Retail Sales Decrease In March

(RTTNews) - Italy's retail sales declined in March after rising in the previous month, data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.

The retail sales value decreased 0.5 percent month-on-month in March, after a 0.7 percent growth in February. A similar rate of fall was seen in January.

Food sales declined 0.6 percent monthly in March, while non-food product sales fell 0.8 percent.

On a yearly basis, the retail sales value rose 5.6 percent in March, after a 4.6 percent rise in the previous month.

In volume terms, retail sales decreased 0.6 percent monthly in March, after a 0.4 percent gain in the prior month. The annual growth rose to 2.5 percent from 2.1 percent a month ago.