Norway retail sales recovered at the start of the year largely underpinned by the strong rebound in information and communication technology equipment sales, data from Statistics Norway showed on Monday.
In a separate communiqué, the statistical office said household consumption logged a double-digit fall in January due to the weakness in automobile and fuel purchases.
Retail sales advanced at a pace of 1.3 percent month-on-month in January, reversing December's 4.2 percent decline.
Sales of ICT equipments climbed 4.1 percent and sales in non-specialized stores advanced 3.6 percent. Meanwhile, partially offsetting increases, sales of automotive fuel dropped 3.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, the decline in retail trade slowed to 6.1 percent in January from 7.8 percent in December.
During three months to January, retail sales fell 1.2 percent from the previous three months, data showed.
Household consumption plunged 22.5 percent in January from the preceding month, in contrast to the 12.7 percent increase in December, the statistical office reported.
There was a sharp 74.4 percent decrease in purchases of vehicles and petrol in January. Spending on electricity and heating fuels fell 6.7 percent. Meanwhile, food, beverages and tobacco consumption gained 2.2 percent.
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