RETAIL sales in Slovakia in March grew for the first time since December 2008. According to data from the Slovak Statistics Office, retail sales in the third month were 0.2 percent higher than in the same period a year ago and reached €1.376 billion, the SITA newswire wrote.
Behind the moderate increase was an increase in retail sales in non-specialised outlets of 8.5 percent. Other retail sectors continued posting a decline in sales. Retail sales outside outlets, kiosks and markets fell by 9.6 percent, the sale of motor fuels dropped by 8.5 percent, goods for culture and recreation by 7.7 percent, and retail sales of other goods in non-specialised outlets went down 4.8 percent.
In the January-March quarterly period, retail sales were 1.8 percent lower than a year ago, totalling €3.875 billion, SITA wrote.
