December retail sales resume drop in Dec, down 40 pct since 2009
Greek retail sales fell in December, reversing a rise in the previous month, statistics service ELSTAT showed on Friday.
Retail sales by volume dropped 6.1 percent year-on-year after a 2.9 percent rise in November, mostly due to a 9.2 percent fall in supermarkets and 11 percent in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.
Hit by the country’s deep recession and record unemployment, retail sales declined by an average annual clip of 8.1 percent in 2013, compared to a 12 percent drop in the full year of 2012.
Based on the figures released on Friday, the sector has shrunk by 40 percent in 2009-2013.
[Reuters]
