Italy Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall 0.4%

Italy's retail sales decreased unexpectedly for the second straight month in November, preliminary data from the statistical office ISTAT reported Friday.

The sales value dropped 0.4 percent month-on-month in November, following a 0.5 percent decrease in October. Economists had expected sales to increase by 0.2 percent.

Sales of food items dropped by 0.1 percent over the month, and those of non-food goods contracted by 0.7 percent.

The annual growth in retail sales moderated to 1.1 percent from 2.6 percent in the previous month.