Spanish retail sales rise 2.9 pct in Dec, households shrug off political uncertainty

Data released by National Statistics Institute (INE) on Friday showed that Spanish retail sales rose 2.9 percent in December on a seasonally-adjusted annual basis. December's reading showed that French households largely shrugged off political uncertainty.

After two inconclusive elections, political parties in Spain struggled to form a government for 10 months. But data showed that consumer spending remained strong spite of a period of political uncertainty. A continued recovery in the job market likely supported consumer spending.

Data showed a slight slowdown in the pace of Spanish retail sales growth from November, when retail sales increased by 3.2 percent, revised down from the 3.3 percent previously reported. For 2016 as a whole retail sales were up by 3.6 percent on a seasonally-adjusted basis, INE said.