{"id":170751,"date":"2023-02-09T07:37:09","date_gmt":"2023-02-09T07:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/?p=170751"},"modified":"2023-02-09T07:37:09","modified_gmt":"2023-02-09T07:37:09","slug":"italy-retail-sales-fall-0-2-on-lower-non-food-demand","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/precoinnews.com\/economy\/italy-retail-sales-fall-0-2-on-lower-non-food-demand\/","title":{"rendered":"Italy Retail Sales Fall 0.2% On Lower Non-Food Demand"},"content":{"rendered":"
Italian retail sales decreased slightly at the end of the year after recovering in the previous month, driven by a fall in non-food goods, data from the statistical office ISTAT showed on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
The value of retail sales dropped 0.2 percent month-on-month in December, reversing a 0.8 percent rebound in November. Economists had forecast a 0.8 percent fall.<\/p>\n
Sales of non-food goods fell 0.4 percent monthly in December, while sales of food products showed an increase of 0.1 percent versus a 0.9 percent gain in November. <\/p>\n
Elevated inflationary pressures squeezed the budgets of households at the end of the year, and thus resulted in lower spending.<\/p>\n
Recent data showed that consumer price inflation still remained at a double-digit figure of 10.1 percent in January, despite easing from December’s 11.6 percent.<\/p>\n
On a yearly basis, the value of retail sales climbed at a slower pace of 3.4 percent in December, following a 4.4 percent increase a month ago. Sales have been rising since March 2021.<\/p>\n
The overall annual growth was mainly attributed to a 5.8 percent rise in sales of food products.<\/p>\n
Online sales were only 0.3 percent higher in December compared to last year, much slower than the 4.3 percent rise in November. <\/p>\n
Data also showed that the volume of retail sales contracted 0.7 percent monthly and by 4.4 percent yearly at the end of the year.<\/p>\n
Overall retail sales value increased by 4.6 percent in 2022 compared to 2021. Meanwhile, sales volume fell 0.8 percent due to a 4.2 percent drop in food goods, which was not offset by a 1.9 percent increase in non-food products, the agency said. <\/p>\n