3-mth to May retail sales up 0.5% (Il Sole 24 Ore Radiocor) - Paris, 21 Jun - In May, seasonally and working-day adjusted retail sales in France fell by 0.4% compared with April, when they dropped 0.5% mainly due to holidays and closures linked to the positioning of bank holidays, according to data released by the Bank of France.

Sales of manufactured goods were down 0.4% after the 1.5% contraction the earlier month.

The volume of food sales declined 0.5% month-on-month after rising 1.0% the previous month.

In terms of distribution channels, sales of small retailers were down 0.8% after the 2.2% drop in April, while those of department stores rose 0.7% after increasing 1.0%.

In the three months to May, retail sales rose 0.5%, reflecting a 0.3% increase for manufactured goods and a 0.7% rise for food.

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(RADIOCOR) 21-06-24 08:07:11 (0090) 5 NNNN