Greek retail sales rose 4.2% in May

[ATHENS] Greek retail sales by volume rose 4.2 in May compared to the same month a year earlier, statistics service ELSTAT said on Friday.

Sales volumes had risen for five months in a row through to October 2014 on a pick up in consumer spending, as the economy showed signs of picking up after a protracted recession. But a turbulent political climate towards the end of last year and a standoff with the country's lenders hit consumer sentiment.

Greece's economy recovered modestly last year after six years of a sharp contraction but has dipped back into recession which is expected to deepen by the end of the year.

Hit by the country's economic slump and record unemployment, retail sales declined by about 40 per cent in 2009-2014, affected by austerity policies imposed under the terms of Greece's 240-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout.

REUTERS

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