Norway Retail Sales Fall 0.1% In March

(RTTNews) - Norway's retail sales decreased for the second straight month in March, though marginally, preliminary data from Statistics Norway showed on Wednesday.

The volume of retail dropped a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent month-on-month in March, slower than the 1.1 percent decrease in February.

The overall decrease was mainly driven by 8.8 percent lower sales in automotive fuel. Retail sales in non-specialized stores fell 1.9 percent, while sales of food items rebounded 1.2 percent.

Data showed that sales of ICT equipment grew 3.4 percent, and those of cultural or recreational goods increased the same 3.4 percent compared to February.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth moderated to 0.9 percent in March from 1.6 percent in the prior month.