Fuel sales increased 6.7% on the year in 2012, while sales of food, drinks and tobacco were up 2.9%, INS data showed. Non-food sales advanced 1.9% on the year. The data are adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors.
In December alone, adjusted retail sales declined 3.2% compared with November, hit by lower demand in all sectors. Compared with the same month of 2011, Romanian adjusted retail sales fell 2.3% in December.
In unadjusted data, retail sales increased 2.9% in 2012 from a year earlier, again boosted by higher sales in all sectors, the data showed.