Czech Retail Sales Rise Further

(RTTNews) - The Czech Republic's retail sales increased for the second successive month in January, largely driven by more demand for non-food items, data from the Czech Statistical Office showed on Tuesday.

Retail sales, except motor vehicles and motorcycles, rose a calendar-adjusted 2.4 percent year-on-year in January, after a 1.2 percent recovery in the previous month. That was well above the expected increase of 0.3 percent.

Sales of non-food products grew 4.0 percent annually in January, and those of food, beverages, and tobacco increased by 0.4 percent.

Data showed that retail sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores increased by 2.3 percent, and sales and repairs of motor vehicles and motorcycles climbed by 3.3 percent.

Data also showed that retail sales via mail order or the internet advanced 13.2 percent.

Compared to the previous month, retail sales moved up by 1.0 percent.