MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish retail sales rose for the eighth month in a row in March, official data showed on Wednesday, as a rebound in private consumption helps the economy grow at one of the fastest rates in the euro zone.
Sales rose 2.8 percent on a calendar-adjusted basis in March, according to National Statistics Institute (INE) data, following a revised 2.5 percent increase in February.
The recovery in consumer confidence is underpinning official forecasts for economic growth of 2.9 percent in Spain this year from last September's 2 percent, although some economists predict the rebound may ease in a year or so weighed down by high unemployment and strained family budgets.
Retail sales have grown in 10 of the past 11 months after mostly falling over a three-year period.
As in previous months, they were boosted in March by gasoline consumption as Spaniards took advantage of cheap oil prices to use their cars again after years of hardship.
But, in an encouraging trend for the next months, spending in household goods like washing machines rose at a solid 7 percent from last year.
Employment in the retail sector grew by 0.8 percent year-on-year in March.