04.02.2022 14:27
Netherlands, Spain, Germany witness highest monthly declines.
Euro area retail sales decreased by 3% last December when compared to a month earlier, the Eurostat announced on Friday.
The volume of retail trade also fell in EU27 by 2.8% month-on-month in December.
However, Eurostat noted: "In December 2021 compared with December 2020, the calendar adjusted retail sales index increased by 2.0% in the euro area and by 2.6% in the EU."
Non-food and food-drinks-tobacco sales decreased by 5.2% and 0.3% respectively, while automotive fuels sales increased by 0.1% month-on-month in December in the eurozone.
"In the EU, the volume of retail trade decreased by 5.0% for non-food products and by 0.2% for food, drinks and tobacco, while it remained stable for automotive fuels," it added.
The Netherlands (-9.2%), Spain (-5.7%) and Germany (-5.5%) saw the largest decrease in retail sales in December while Latvia (+7.2%), Slovenia (+2.1%), Bulgaria and Hungary (both +1.0%) registered the highest monthly rise.
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. -