Retail sales rose 1.6% in January compared with the previous month in data adjusted for the number of working days and seasonal factors, the statistics institute INS said.
Sales of food, beverages and tobacco products were up 3.2% on the month, while fuel sales inched 0.2% higher compared with December. Sales of non-food items went down 0.3%.
Against January 2014, retail sales went up 6.8% in adjusted data, helped by higher demand in all sectors.
Food sales rose 7.6% on the year in January, while sales of fuels and non-food products increased 5.2% and 4%, respectively.
In unadjusted data, retail sales were down 24.4% in January from a month earlier, but 6.3% higher compared with the same period of 2014.
In 2014, Romania retail sales posted a 7% increase compared with the previous year.