Dec 22 (Reuters) - Italian retail sales jumped 1.2 percent month-on-month in October after three consecutive monthly declines, but were down 0.2 percent from the year earlier, data showed on Thursday.
October's 1.2 percent month-on-month rise was the largest increase for more than two years, but sales in the three months to October were still down 0.2 percent from the May-to-July period.
In the first 10 months of the year retail sales were flat compared with the same period of 2015.
National statistics institute ISTAT marginally revised up September's data to show a 0.5 percent month-on-month drop, compared with a an originally reported 0.6 percent fall.
The 0.2 percent year-on-year fall in sales in October marked the fourth consecutive annual decline.
The data are expressed in value terms and are not adjusted for consumer prices, which were down 0.1 percent in October from the year earlier, based on Italy's EU-harmonised index (HICP).