Retail sales rose 2.1% in November compared with the previous month in data adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors, the statistics institute INS said.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco products inched higher 0.5% on the month, while fuel sales rose 1.1% compared with October. Sales of non-food items went up 4%.

Against November 2013, retail sales went up 7.8% in adjusted data, helped by higher demand in the food and non-food sectors.

Food sales rose 8.4% on the year in October, while non-food sales increased 12.3%. Sales of fuels fell 4.5% on the year.

In the first eleven months of 2014, adjusted retail sales were up 7.4% compared with the year-earlier period.

In unadjusted data, retail sales were down 0.5% in November from a month earlier, but 7.1% higher compared with the same period of 2013.