Retail trade up in EU, eurozone in May

ISTANBUL

The retail trade increased by 0.2% and 0.8% in the eurozone and the EU in May, according to official figures on Wednesday.

Eurostat data showed that the retail trade increased mostly in automotive fuels by 5.6% followed by non-food products by 2% while it fell by 3.6% for food, drinks and tobacco in the eurozone.

In the EU, the retail trade volume was up by 6.8% for automotive fuels and by 2% for non-food products, while it fell by 2.6% for food, drinks and tobacco.

Among member states, the highest retail trade volume was posted by Slovenia with 25%, followed by Poland (11.2%) and Hungary (11.1%).

The largest declines were seen in Austria with 6.4%, Denmark with 5.6% and Luxembourg and Finland with 5.2%.

On a monthly basis, the retail trade was up by 0.2% in the eurozone while it was unchanged in the EU.