BRUSSELS: Retail sales in the 19-country eurozone and 28-country European Union (EU) remained stable in August on a monthly basis, official data showed on Monday.
The figure brought an end to the upward trend in July which reported growth readings of 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, according to Eurostat, the European Union’s (EU) statistics agency.
In the euro area, the stable figure in August was due to rises of 1.8 percent for automotive fuel, 0.8 percent for “food, drinks and tobacco”, while non-food products fell by 0.3 percent, the agency said.
On a yearly basis, the euro area enjoyed a 2.3-percent increase, Eurostat noted. In the greater EU, sales rose by 2.6 percent year-on-year.
Among member states, the highest increases in total retail trade were registered in Portugal, Ireland and Poland, while the largest decreases were observed in Luxembourg, Sweden, Estonia and Finland.
