Italian retail sales hit by biggest drop since 2001 Year-on-year fall of 6.8% registered in April

(ANSA) - Rome, June 26 - Istat gave another indication of how hard the recession is hitting the Italian economy on Tuesday when it said retail sales were down 6.8% in April compared to the same month in 2011, the biggest year-on-year fall since January 2001.The national statistics agency added that retail sales were 1.6% down in April compared to March this year.Small shops suffered particularly badly, with their sales declining 8.6% year-on-year, while the big retail networks were hit with a 4.3% drop.Food sales slumped, with a 6.1% drop on the same month in 2011, which was also the biggest fall in 11 years.Even discount food supermarkets, which up to now had fared well during the recession, saw sales diminish by 3%.