Greek October retail sales drop 8.1 pct y/y

(Reuters) - Greek retail sales fell 8.1 percent year-on-year by volume in October after a 9.9 percent drop in September, as households, strained by austerity, reduced consumption. Data from the statistics service (ELSTAT) showed sales in revenue terms fell 2.0 percent year-on-year in October after a 3.9 percent slide in the previous month.


ECONOMIST COMMENT NIKOS MAGGINAS, NATIONAL BANK "Retail sales remain on a downtrend, hurt by higher indirect taxes and a deteriorating labour market. We expect a further slump in the rest of this year and in the first quarter of 2011. The first signs of stabilisation are expected in the second half of 2011." ************************************************************** KEY FIGURES OCT* SEPT* AUG* JULY* Retail sales by volume (y/y) -8.1 -9.9 -11.8 -9.1 Retail sales by revenue (y/y) -2.0 -3.9 -6.3 -3.7 ------------------------------------------------- (in pct)** OCT SEPT Supermarkets -9.1 -8.1 Department stores -10.6 -11.4 Fuels, lubricants -2.4 -8.5 Food, beverage, tobacco -3.9 -7.4 Drugs, cosmetics -10.7 -3.9 Apparel, footwear -11.3 -18.5 Furniture, appliances -14.6 -20.9 Books, paper goods -4.1 -7.7 ------------------------------------------- * includes fuels and auto lubricants ** by volume y/y source: ELSTAT BACKGROUND: Austerity measures to deal with the country's debt crisis kept the economy in recession for a second year in 2010. The government projects a GDP contraction of about 4.2 percent, deeper than last year's 2.0 percent GDP decline. With unemployment rising, analysts expect that tax hikes and cuts in wages and pensions, part of a fiscal belt-tightening to shore up public finances, will hurt consumer spending in the coming months.








http://www.cnbc.com/id/40850093