Sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose 3% on the month in September in data adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors. However, sales of fuels and non-food items declined 4% and 1% on the month, respectively.
In annual terms, adjusted retail sales declined 5.2% in September, due to declines in all sectors, INS said.
Fuel sales decreased 9.5% on the year in September, while sales of food and non-food items were down 5.1% and 2.1%, respectively.
In January through September, Romanian adjusted retail sales declined 5.3% on the year, again due to falling consumption in all sectors.