Print Print edition: 2017-01-28

Spanish retail sales rise 2.9 percent

Published January 28, 2017 Updated January 28, 2017 12:00am

Spanish retail sales rose 2.9 percent in December on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis, capping a strong year for consumer spending in spite of a period of political uncertainty, the National Statistics Institute (INE) said on Friday. December's reading showed a slight slowdown in the pace of growth from November, when retail sales increased by 3.2 percent, revised down from the 3.3 percent previously reported.
Spanish political parties struggled to form a government for 10 months after two inconclusive elections, but households largely shrugged off the instability and consumer spending stayed strong, helped by a continued recovery in the job market. For 2016 as a whole retail sales were up by 3.6 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, INE said.