Greek July retail sales rise 2.5 pct, led by pharmaceuticals

Greek retail sales by volume rose 2.5 percent in July compared to the same month last year after a downwardly revised 1.7 percent increase in June, statistics service ELSTAT said on Friday.

Retail sales were led higher by pharmaceuticals, cosmetics and books, the data showed.

Greece's economy expanded for a sixth straight quarter in the April-to-June period but at a slower pace than the quarter before, mainly because of weak investment spending.

Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent in the second quarter compared with an upwardly revised 0.9 percent in January-to-March.

On an annual basis, Greece's economic expansion decelerated to 1.8 percent in the second quarter from an upwardly revised 2.5 percent in the first quarter.

The EU Commission sees the economy growing by 1.9 percent this year, while the International Monetary Fund projects growth of 2.0...