Greek retail sales dip 0.4 pct in June
Greek retail sales by volume slipped 0.4 percent in June compared to the same month a year earlier, led lower by pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and furniture sectors, statistics service ELSTAT said on Monday.
Data on gross domestic product released last week showed resilience in Greek consumer spending, which rose 1.1 percent in the second quarter and helped the economy expand by 0.9 percent.
Sales volumes had risen for five months in a row through to October 2014 on a pick up in consumer spending, as the economy showed signs of picking up after a protracted recession. But a turbulent political climate towards the end of last year and a standoff with the country's lenders hit consumer sentiment.
Hit by the country's economic slump and record unemployment, retail sales declined by about 40 percent over 2009-2014, hammered by austerity policies imposed under the terms of Greece's 240-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout. [Reuters]
