Spanish retail sales posted their biggest monthly drop in April since the statistical series began in 2003, official data showed Tuesday, in the latest sign of a deterioration in economic activity. Retail sales adjusted for calendar effects dropped 9.8 percent in April, after falling 3.8 percent in March, the national statistics agency said in a statement.
Spain, the eurozone's fourth-largest economy, fell back into recession during the first quarter as the economy continues to reel from the collapse of a property bubble in 2008 and its unemployment rate sits at 24.4 percent. Retail sales dropped 10.6 percent at gas stations and plunged 16.1 percent at large chains, it said.