Slovak retail sales rose by a real 5.8 percent year-on-year in December, slowing from a 7.4 percent increase in November, data from the Slovak Statistics Office released on Thursday showed. SELECTED SECTOR SALES DEC 06 NOV 06 DEC 05 JAN-DEC 06 (pct change yr/yr) Retail sales 5.8 7.4 6.3 8.3 Hotels and restaurants 0.8 7.6 -6.1 14.5 Vehicle sales and maintenance 15.8 21.1 -0.9 13.9 NOTE: Analysts in a Reuters survey earlier this month had expected retail sales to have risen by 7.3 percent in December. (Reporting by Martin Santa in Bratislava) ((For past economic data and analysts' forecasts, double click on )) ((Editing by Alan Crosby; martin.santa@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging: martin.santa.reuters.com@reuters.net; +421 2 5341 8402)) Keywords: SLOVAKIA ECONOMY/RETAIL
[Reuters/Finance.cz]