Spain: Retail sales growth accelerates in January
Retail sales continued to grow at the outset of the year, expanding 2.2% in year-on-year seasonally- and calendar-adjusted terms in January. The figure was above the 1.5% expansion recorded in December and indicates Spain’s domestic economy has largely shrugged off any concerns related with Catalonia’s bid for independence. Sales in Catalonia were up 1.3% in January, above the meagre 0.2% expansion recorded in December.
A breakdown of the headline figure showed January’s faster expansion was the result of stronger household equipment sales and other good purchases, which more than offset weaker personal equipment and food sales. On a distribution-based classification, sales were healthier in single retail stores, and small chain and department stores. Conversely, they were slightly softer in large chain stores.
Annual average growth in retail sales recorded a back-to-back expansion in January, rising to a four-month high of 1.4% in January from 1.2% in December.