Retail sales in the EU rose 1% in July but declined 0.4% compared to June, the EU’s statistical office Eurostat said.
In the eurozone, retail sales increased 0.8% on the year in July and declined 0.4% on the month.
The highest annual increases among EU members were observed in Luxembourg (+14.1%), Bulgaria (+9.2%) and Romania (+6.3%), while decreases were registered in Malta (-2.5%), Poland (-1.1%) and Belgium and Austria (both -1%).
In monthly terms, the biggest increases compared to June were in Portugal (+2.6%) and Latvia(+2.2%), while the biggest decreases were in Austria (-1.5%), Germany (-1.4%) and Sweden (-1.3%).