Spain: Retail sales expand at quickest pace since January in December
Retail sales expanded 3.5% year on year in December (November: -0.7% yoy). The figure marked the best reading since January. Looking at the details of the release, December’s pickup was broad-based. Large chain stores and small chain stores activity gained steam , while single retail stores production contracted at a softer rate.
On a monthly basis, retail sales declined 1.7% in seasonally adjusted terms in December, contrasting November’s 3.2% expansion and marking the worst result since March. Meanwhile, the trend improved sizably, with the annual average variation of retail sales coming in at 0.7%, up from November’s 0.0%.