2010.08.3108:14:00UTC+00Italian Retail Sales Pick Up In June

Italy's retail sales rose in June following declines in previous two months, latest data from statistical office Istat showed Tuesday.

Sales at the country's retail stores increased 0.3% month-on-month in June following declines of 0.1% and 0.4% respectively in May and April. The increase was better than the expected 0.1% rise. Details of data showed that sales of food products stagnated in June, while non-food sales increased 0.5%.

Retail sales dropped for a third consecutive month on an annual basis, but the pace of decline eased to 0.5% from 1.9% recorded in May. In the first six months of the year, retail sales were down 0.3% compared to the same period a year ago.

Though retail sales picked up in June, Italian households confidence in August plunged to its lowest level since March 2009, as government austerity measures made them more pessimistic about their personal financial situation and the possibility for savings. A survey conducted by ISAE showed that the consumer confidence index fell to 104.1 in August from 105.5 in July.

However, other leading economic indicators are showing positive signs. Preliminary inflation data released today showed that the rate eased to 1.6% in August from 1.8% in July.

Moreover, the jobless rate eased to 8.4% in July from 8.5% recorded in June. Total number of unemployed showed a monthly decline of 15,000 to 2.1 million. Meanwhile, the number of employed totaled 22.88 million.

Furthermore, ISAE's business confidence survey revealed today that manufacturing sentiment improved in August. The confidence indicator climbed to 100.5 from 98.3 in July.

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