Eurozone retail trade rebounds to growth in August

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - Euro area retail sales rose 0.1% in August from a month ago, following a 0.4% contraction in July, according to official data released by Eurostat on Monday.

In the EU, sales were unchanged from a month ago in August. The market expectation for the euro area was a monthly rise of 0.1% in August.

The highest increase in sales volumes in the euro area was seen in sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores, up 0.4% on a monthly basis.

The sales volumes in August also rose 0.3% for food, drinks, and tobacco.

On the other hand, sales volumes for non-food products (except automotive fuel) fell 0.1% in August.

Among EU members for which data are available, the largest monthly increases were seen in Lithuania (1.7%), Italy and Malta (1.5% both), and Sweden (1.1%).

Conversely, the largest drops were in Romania (minus 4%), Poland (0.8%), and Portugal and Luxembourg (minus 0.7% both) in August.

On an annual basis, retail sales grew by 1% in the euro area and 1.1% in the EU in August.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA20, is made up of member states that use the bloc's single currency, the euro, whereas the EU27 includes all member countries.