The seasonally-adjusted volume of retail trade in the euro area increased by 0.3% in June 2018 against figures of May 2018, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
However, statistics for the EU28 for the same period remained stable.
Comparison of data from June 2018 and June 2017 reveals that the calendar-adjusted retail sales index increased by 1.2% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU28 this year.
Volume sales in the eurozone increased by 0.1% in March this year.
More Demand For Food And Fuel
The increase has been attributed to a 0.7% rise in trade of 'food, drinks and tobacco' and a 0.6% rise in demand for automotive fuels.
The sale of non-food products fell by 0.3%.
In the EU28, the unchanged volume of retail trade is the result of a 0.4% increase in demand for 'food, drinks and tobacco.' The sale of automotive fuel increased by 0.1%, while non-food products fell by 0.4%.
Among the EU Member States for which data is available, countries with the highest yearly increases in total retail trade volume include Romania (+7.8%), Lithuania (+7.2%), Hungary (+6.1%) and Bulgaria (+6.0%).
The largest decrease were observed in Malta (-1.5%), Austria (-1.4%) and Estonia (-1.2%).
© 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.
