Spain: Retail sales tank in March
Retail sales plunged 5.5% year-on-year in March (February: +1.7% yoy). The reading reflected a broad-based deterioration across the major sectors, with large chain stores, small chain stores and single retail stores contracting at a sustained pace in the month.
On a monthly basis, retail sales tanked 3.8% in seasonally-adjusted terms in March, contrasting February’s 0.7% increase. Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of retail sales coming in at 3.6%, down from February’s 5.5% reading.