Italy Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall 0.1%

(RTTNews) - Italy's retail sales decreased unexpectedly in June amid a fall in demand for food products, the statistical office ISTAT reported Tuesday.

The sales value dropped 0.1 percent on a monthly basis in June, reversing a 0.2 percent increase in May. Meanwhile, economists had expected an increase of 0.1 percent.

Sales of food products contracted 0.4 percent monthly in June, while those of non-food products increased at a stable rate of 0.2 percent.

Regarding non-food items, the largest increase was recorded for household appliances, radios, televisions, and tape recorders, which grew 14.2 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth improved to 3.1 percent in June from 2.2 percent in the prior month, driven exclusively by large-scale retail trade and especially by e-commerce.