Italy's retail sales declined for the second straight month in September, the statistical office ISTAT reported Wednesday.
The sales value slid 0.3 percent on a monthly basis, following a 0.4 percent decrease in August. This was slightly weaker than economists' forecast of 0.2 percent drop.
Retail sales of food dropped 0.2 percent, the same pace of fall as seen in August. The monthly fall in non-food sales was 0.5 percent compared to a 0.4 percent drop a month ago.
The annual growth in retail sales slowed to 1.3 percent from 2.4 percent in August. Nonetheless, the value of retail trade continued to grow for 31 consecutive months.
In the third quarter, retail sales value was unchanged, while the volume decreased 1.3 percent.
