EU’s retail sales were down 1.4% in May compared with the year-earlier month, EU’s statistics agency Eurostat said.
Among the member states for which data were available, total retail trade decreased in ten and rose in eleven. The largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-8%), Spain (-7.7%) and Romania (-6%), and the highest increases in Luxembourg (+14.3%), Lithuania (+6%) and Belgium (+5.7%).
In May compared with April, Romanian retail sales inched up 0.1%, while sales in the EU bloc declined 1.1%, the data showed.
Total retail trade fell in thirteen EU states and rose in eight. The largest decreases were observed in Denmark (-3.7%), Portugal (-3.1%) and Germany (-2.8%), and the highest increases in Luxembourg (+3%), Latvia (+2%) and Malta (+1.5%).