Cyprus retail trade picks up to 3.1% (prov) in Feb

Retail trade volumes picked up in February, rising by a provisional 3.1% over the year earlier, from 2.2% in January.
For the first two months as a whole, retail trade is provisionally estimated to have risen by 2.6%.
Sales of food have been the strongest performer, with sales in “non-specialised stores” rising by 10% in the first two months of this year, compared with the same two months of last year.
After growth of only 0.2% in 2010, sales of textiles, clothing and footwear rose by 3.3% in the first two months.
Electrical goods and furniture, however, were still down, falling by 1.9% over the year earlier in the first two months of the year.
The retail value index in the same period rose by a provisional 4.6%. FM