Bulgarian Retail Sales Growth Strongest In 8 Months

(RTTNews) - Bulgaria's retail sales growth improved for the third straight month in December to the highest level in eight months, figures from the statistical office showed on Thursday.

Retail sales climbed 7.8 percent annually in December, faster than the 6.8 percent in November.

Further, this was the sharpest growth since May, when sales had risen 9.9 percent.

The annual sales growth in food, beverages, and tobacco eased to 9.4 percent from 11.0 percent a month ago.

The slowdown in growth was also influenced by the continued sales decline of automotive fuel in specialized stores, where sales plunged 10.7 percent. Meanwhile, sales of non-food products grew at an accelerated pace of 11.6 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.5 percent versus a 1.4 percent gain in November.