Biggest retail sales rise since end 2010

(ANSA) - Rome, May 9 - A 0.7% quarterly rise in retail sales in the first quarter of 2017 is the biggest for over six years, ISTAT said Tuesday. To find a similar quarterly gain, in fact, you have to go back to the last quarter of 2010 when the gain was 0.8%, it said. Italian retail sales rose 0.7% in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of 2016, ISTAT said.
    In March, sales were steady on the previous month and 0.4% on an annual level. Sales in March showed little variation, both in the food sector and in the non-food sector, the statistics agency said.