FX.co ★ Italy Retail Sales Unexpectedly Remain Flat

Italian retail sales remained steady in March, following a minor increase in the previous month, according to a report released by Italy's National Institute of Statistics (ISTAT) on Wednesday. Despite predictions for a 0.2% rise, the retail sales value stayed the same for the month, after a modest recovery of 0.1% in February.

Sales stats reveal a slight increase of 0.2% in the food sector for the month. However, non-food items saw a decrease in sales by 0.3%. On an annual basis, the growth rate for retail sales value eased down to 2.0% in March from February's 2.4%.

Additionally, the data showed a slight decline in retail sales volume by 0.1% on a monthly basis. However, there was a 0.3% increase when compared with sales volume data from the same period last year.