Today’s Eurostat report showed that in July retail sales volumes in the eurozone fell by 1.3% compared to August, short of analysts' expectations. Across the EU as a whole, the figure was down by 0.8% on a monthly basis.
Compared to the same month last year, the volume of goods sold in July increased by 0.4% in the eurozone, and by 0.7% in the EU.
Sales of non-food items decreased by 2.9% per month in the eurozone, while sales of food, beverages and tobacco were flat. On the other hand, auto fuel sales jumped by 4.3%.
Belgium and Finland recorded the largest fall in sales across the retail sector among the member states of the eurozone, dropping by 5.1% and 2% on monthly basis.
