Greek retail sales fall 1% in December, with cosmetics a leading factor

Greek retail sales by volume fell 1.0 percent in December compared to the same month a year ago after an upwardly revised 4.0 percent increase in November, statistics service ELSTAT said on Tuesday.

Retail sales were led lower by drugs and cosmetics, apparel and footwear, the data showed.

Data on gross domestic product showed Greece's economy contracted from October to December after two straight quarters of growth, with its performance in the last quarter of 2016 turning out worse than expected.

The seasonally adjusted flash estimates showed a 0.4 percent decline in economic output in the fourth quarter.