Spain Retail Sales Growth Improves

Spain’s retail sales grew at a faster pace in October, led by increased sales of non-food products, preliminary data from INE showed Wednesday.

Retail sales grew a seasonally and calendar adjusted 1.0 percent year-on-year following a 0.4 percent rise in September.

Food sales decreased 2.8 percent, while sales of non-food products increased 3.8 percent.

On a nonadjusted basis, retail sales rose 1.4 percent annually, this rate was eight tenths above the rate of the previous month.

Compared to the previous month, retail sales grew for a third month in a row, up 0.4 percent after a 0.3 percent rise in September.

Monthly sales at department stores were unchanged, while sales at mall chain stores grew 0.9 percent from the previous month.