The increase in the total index was determined by the year-on-year increase of 6.2 percent in food products, whereas in the previous month they had increased by 3.6 percent.
The non-food products category had a year-on-year increase of 4.3 percent, lower than the February increase of 4.9 percent compared to the same month of the previous year.
The employment, wages and hours worked indices adjusted for calendar effects showed annual rates of change of 3.7 percent, 3.4 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, maintaining or decreasing compared to increases of 3.7 percent, 4.7 percent and 0.3 percent in February, respectively.
In the first quarter of this year, retail sales increased by 5.1 percent year-on-year, up from the 4.4 percent increase in the fourth quarter of 2017, with food and non-food rising by 4.4 percent and 5.7 percent in the quarter, up from 3.7 percent and 4.9 percent in the previous quarter.