The seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 0.4% in the euro area (EA19) and the EU28 in February 2019 when compared with the previous month, according to the latest data from Eurostat.
The calendar adjusted year-on-year retail sales index for February 2019 increased by 2.8% in the euro area and by 3.3% in the EU28.
In January of this year, retail trade volumes increased by 0.9% in the euro area and by 1.0% in the EU28.
Monthly Comparison
The volume of retail trade increased by 0.9% for non-food products, and 0.1% for food, drinks, and tobacco in February in the euro area.
In the EU28, the retail trade volume increased by 1% for non-food products, while food, drinks, and tobacco reported a decline of 0.1% in the same period.
Croatia (+4.4%), Belgium and Latvia (both +1.6%) reported the largest increase in the total retail trade volume, while Slovakia (-1.5%), Portugal (-1.0%) and Bulgaria (-0.6%) recorded the highest decline.
Annual Statistics
The year-on-year volume of retail trade in February 2019 increased by 4.4% for non-food products in the euro area.
In the EU28, the retail trade volume for the same period increased by 5.1% for non-food products, while automotive fuel registered a 3.0% growth.
The highest yearly increase in the total retail trade volume was witnessed in Slovenia (+11.8%), Croatia (+11.4%) and Romania (+9.1%).
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
