Eurozone's retail trade volume up in January

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The euro area's retail trade volume was up 0.6% month-on-month in January, the EU's statistical authority announced on Wednesday.

According to Eurostat, the figure also rose 0.5% in the EU27 in January compared to December 2019.

In December, the retail trade volume was down 1.1% from November in the eurozone and 1% in the EU27.

The eurozone/euro area or EA19 represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU includes all member countries of the bloc.

In the euro area, "the volume of retail trade increased by 1.9% for automotive fuels, by 0.7% for food, drinks and tobacco and by 0.4% for non-food products," in January, versus December, according to Eurostat.

In the EU27 side, retail trade soared 1.9% for automotive fuels and 0.7% for food, drinks and tobacco products and 0.3% for non-food products.

Among member states for which data are available, Slovenia (5.6%) posted the largest rise in the total retail trade volume, followed by Portugal (4.2%) and Romania (3.5%) respectively, the statistical office said.

"The largest decreases were observed in Belgium (-2.4%), Ireland (-1.7%) and Malta (-0.7%)," it added.