Retail sales down 0.6% in March

(ANSA) - Rome, May 26 - Retail sales dropped 0.6% in March compared to February, according to provisional data released by Istat on Thursday. The national statistics agency added, however, that sales were up 2.2% compared to the same month in 2015, with increases both for major retailers (up 2.9%) and traditional shops (up 1.6%). Istat said retail sales were flat in the first quarter as a whole with respect to the last three months of 2015.