Poland's retail sales decreased from last year in April, defying economists' forecast for an increase, latest data showed Friday.
Retail sales, at current prices, decreased 0.2 percent year-on-year in April, reversing the 0.1 percent gain seen in March, the statistical office said. Economists had forecast sales to grow by 1.1 percent.
The overall slump in sales reflected an 8 percent fall in trade in fuel products, and a 3.6 percent drop in sales of food, beverages and tobacco products. Sales of automobiles, meanwhile, rose by 5.8 percent from a year earlier, and clothing and footwear sales climbed 11.6 percent.
Separately, the agency said Poland's unemployment rate dropped to 14 percent in April from 14.3 percent in March. Economists were looking for a sharper fall to 13.9 percent.
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