FX.co ★ Italy Retail Sales Grow In February

Italy's retail sales rose in February after falling in the previous month, data from the statistical office Istat showed on Friday.

The retail sales value increased 0.7 percent month-on-month in February, after a 0.6 percent drop in January. In December, retail sales rose 0.8 percent.

Food sales declined 0.6 percent monthly in February, while non-food product sales grew 1.7 percent.

On a yearly basis, the retail sales value rose 4.3 percent in February, after a 8.3 percent growth in the previous month.

In volume terms, retail sales increased 0.4 percent monthly in February, after a 0.8 percent gain in the prior month. The annual growth eased to 1.9 percent from 7.2 percent a month ago.