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Portugal registers biggest fall in retail sales in EU in December

Xinhua, February 5, 2015 Adjust font size:

Portugal registered the biggest fall in retail sales in December in the European Union (EU), compared to the previous month, according to figures released on Wednesday by EU statistics body Eurostat.

Portugal saw a 3.8-percent drop in retail sales in December compared to the previous month, while retail sales in the EU rose by 0.3 percent.

The report shows that Portugal saw retail sales rise 0.9 percent in December compared to the same month of the previous year.

Retail sales rose by 2.8 percent in the euro zone year-on-year and 3.2 percent in the EU.

Portugal signed a 78-billion-euro bailout program in 2011 with the European Commission, the International Monetary Fund and the European Central Bank and has had to implement harsh austerity measures to put the country's growth back on track.

The country had a clean exit from the bailout program in May last year and the Portuguese government is striving to cut its budget deficit to 2.5 percent this year. Enditem