By Gokhan Ergocun
ISTANBUL (AA) – Both the EU27 and euro area retail sales posted a 0.3% rise in February compared to the previous month, the bloc's statistical office said on Thursday.
On an annually basis, retail sales increased 5% in the EU and 5.4% in the eurozone, according to Eurostat.
The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the bloc's single currency – the euro – while the EU27 includes all of its member countries.
In the euro area, the volume of retail trade was up 3.2% for automotive fuels, and 0.8% for non-food products, while it dropped 0.5% for food-drinks-tobacco month-on-month in February.
"Compared with February 2021, the volume of retail trade increased by 12.0% for automotive fuels, and by 9.3% for non-food products, while it fell by 2.0% for food, drinks and tobacco," it added.
Among EU member states, the highest monthly increases in total retail trade volume were seen in Slovenia (8%), the Netherlands (4%) and Portugal (2.3%), while Belgium (-1.8%), Estonia (-1.7%) and Poland (-1.6%) saw the largest declines.
On a yearly basis, the highest volume was registered by Slovenia with 21.7% and the largest decline by Austria with minus 5.9%.