Retail sales down 0.2 in February – update 2 Consumers says data contradicts claim recession over (ANSA) – Rome, April 22 – Retail sales dropped 0.2% in February with respect to January, but were 0.1% up compared to the same month in 2014, national statistics agency Istat said on Wednesday. On Tuesday Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan told parliament that Italy was set to post positive growth in the first quarter of this year and was “out of recession”. But Wednesday’ s data was seen by some as a sign that Italy is not yet out of the woods after years of flat or negative growth. “The data seems to contradict Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan’ s optimism about the end of the recession,” said Carlo Rienzi, the president of consumer association Codacons. “The data is a snapshot of a country that is still in trouble and is struggling more and more to emerge from the quagmire”.

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