DATA SNAP: Italy July Retail Sales -0.4% On Mo; -2.6% On Yr

By ROME -- Italian retail sales in July fell more than expected on the year, as both food and nonfood sales dropped, national statistics office Istat said Friday.

Retail sales in July fell an unadjusted 2.6% on the year, after declining 0.8% in June, dropping for the sixth consecutive month.

Retail sales in July were down 0.4% on the month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, after falling the same percentage rate in June.

Economists polled Newswires had expected July retail sales to fall by 1.6% on the month and to rise by 0.3% on the year.

In the period from January to July, Istat said retail sales fell an unadjusted 2.1%, compared with the first seven months of last year.