EU-wide, retail trade stagnated on the month in February, due to a 0.5% fall in food, drinks and tobacco sales while both the non – food sector and automotive fuel rose by 0.3%.
The highest increases in total retail trade were registered in Latvia (1.2 %), Malta and Slovenia (both 1.1%) and Lithuania (1.0%) and the largest decreases in Romania (- 1.4%), Portugal (- 1.2 %) and Spain (- 0.7%).
Compared to February 2014, retail trade rose 3.3% in Romania, one of the lowest increases in the EU.
In EU, retail trade rose 3.6% on the year in February, due to a 5.5% growth in fuel sales and a 4.9% increase of non-food product sales.
Eurostat data showed Luxembourg posted the highest annual growth in retail trade in February, of 10.2%, while Slovakia was the only EU state which posted a fall in retail trade, of 0.3%.