Italian retail sales fell by slightly

Italian retail sales fell by slightly more than expected in November, with figures returning to post a negative trend as the country is in a recession, said national statistics institute Istat Wednesday.

  Retail sales fell 0.3% in November from October in seasonally-adjusted terms, pulled down by the food sector, an Istat official said.

  Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a drop of 0.1% after a 0.2% rise in October.

  November's decrease on the month was led by a 0.8% fall in food items, while non-food sales shed 0.1% from October.

  Retail sales were down 1.8% on the year in November, Istat said, using unadjusted terms for the annual figure, pulled lower by the non-food sector. The October figure was a 1.4% decline.