National Institute of Statistics (Istituto Nazionale di
Statistica, ISTAT) reported on Friday that Italy’s retail sales declined 0.4 per
cent m-o-m in May, following an unrevised 0.7 per cent m-o-m jump in the
previous month.
Economists had forecast Italy’s retail sales to rise 0.5 per
cent m-o-m in May.
According to the report, the May decrease in retail sales was
due to a 0.9 per cent m-o-m plunge in sales of food products. Meanwhile, sales
of non-food goods were unchanged m-o-m.
Compared to May 2024, the country’s retail sales
went up 1.3 per cent, following an upwardly revised 3.8 per cent surge (from +3.7
per cent) in April.