EU's retail trade volume up in February

By Aysu Bicer

ANKARA (AA) - The EU's retail trade volume was up 0.8% month-on-month in February, the EU's statistical authority announced on Friday.

"In February, compared with February 2019, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 3.2% in the EU," said Eurostat.

In the month, the retail trade volume increased by 2.1% for food, drinks and tobacco, by 0.2% for non-food products and by 0.1% for automotive fuels.

Among member states for which data are available, Estonia (4.4%) posted the largest rise in the total retail trade volume, followed by Latvia (3.5%) and Portugal (3%) respectively, the statistical office said.

"Decreases were observed in Ireland (-2.7%), Slovenia (-1.8%), Croatia and Poland (both -0.2%)," it added.

In the EU in February, compared with the same month last year, the retail trade volume increased by 3.6% for non-food products, by 3.1% for food, drinks and tobacco and by 0.6% for automotive fuel.

The highest yearly increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Romania (+11.9%), Hungary (+11.4%) and Portugal (+8.7%). A decrease was observed in Slovenia (-5.2%).