ISTANBUL

Retail sales volume narrowed by 0.5% in the euro area and 0.4% in the EU month-on-month in February, official figures from Eurostat showed on Friday.

In February, retail trade volume in the euro area decreased by 0.4% for food, beverages, and tobacco, 0.2% for non-food products (excluding automotive fuel), and 1.4% for automotive fuel.

On the EU side, the volume of retail trade dropped for food, drinks, and tobacco by 0.5%, for non-food products (except automotive fuel) by 0.1%, and for automotive fuel by 0.9%.

The largest monthly decreases in total retail trade volume were recorded in Germany (-1.9%), Belgium (-1.8%) and Greek Cypriot (-1.1%).

The highest increases were observed in Poland (+1.4%), Croatia (+1.2%) and Estonia (+1.0%).

On a yearly basis, the retail trade volume dropped by 0.7% in the euro area and 0.2% in the EU.

The largest annual decreases in the total retail trade volume were recorded in Belgium (-6.8%), Slovenia (-5.6%) and Finland (-3.7%).

The highest increases were observed in Croatia (+9.2%), Romania (+8.7%) and Luxembourg (+6.9%).