Italy's retail sales increased for the first time in three months in October, preliminary data from the statistical office ISTAT reported Thursday.
The sales value rose 0.4 percent month-on-month in October, reversing a 0.4 percent decrease in September. Economists had expected a 0.1 percent slight recovery for the month.
Retail sales of food items increased by 0.6 percent, and those of non-food goods gained by 0.2 percent.
The annual growth in retail sales slowed to 0.3 percent from 1.2 percent in September.
