PRAGUE, Czech Republic, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- Czech retail sales growth picked up speed in October, rising by 1.7 percent year-on-year, official figures showed Thursday.
The figures were well above market expectations for a rise in retail sales of 1.2 percent year-on-year, and easily beat the September rise in retail sales of 1 percent year-on-year.
However, analysts said the sluggish pace of retail sales growth reflected the less than spectacular growth in the wider Czech economy as compared to others in the region.
Czech gross domestic product grew by 3.6 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of the year compared to 5.3 percent year-on-year growth in gross domestic product in Slovakia.
Hungary saw third quarter year-on-year growth of 3.7 percent, while Poland's gross domestic product grew 4.7 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of the year.
