Greek retail sales by volume rose 7.4 percent in August compared to the same month in 2013, after a downwardly revised 4.7 percent increase in July, Greek statistics service ELSTAT said on Friday.
According to a Reuters report, sales volumes rose for the third month in a row, pointing to a boost in consumer spending in the third quarter, which may help dampen deflationary pressures.
Greece’s international lenders, the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, expect the economy to post a modest recovery in 2014 after six years of deep recession. They expect growth of 0.6 percent, driven by tourism, investment and exports.
Hit by the country’s deep economic slump and 27 percent record unemployment, retail sales dropped by about 40 percent in the 2009-2013 period, driven by austerity policies imposed under the terms of Greece’s 240-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout. [Reuters]
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