Turkish Retail Sales Growth Eases To 5-month Low

(RTTNews) - Turkey's retail sales continued to expand sharply in December, though at the slowest pace in five months, the Turkish Statistical Institute said on Tuesday.

The volume of retail sales climbed 13.5 percent on a yearly basis in December, following a 16.6 percent growth in November.

The annual sales growth in non-food products, except automotive fuel, softened to 16.8 percent from 22.1 percent.

Meanwhile, sales of food, drinks, and tobacco grew at a faster pace of 12.7 percent versus an 11.8 percent surge in November. Automotive fuel sales dropped 3.0 percent.

Data showed that online sales growth also moderated to 8.8 percent from 14.8 percent.

On a monthly basis, retail sales rose 0.5 percent, following a strong 2.3 percent rebound in the prior month.