Luxembourg, Slovenia, Ireland, Slovakia and Romania recorded in April the most significant advance in the European Union retail trade as compared to the same period of 2016, according to data released on Tuesday by the European Statistics Office (Eurostat).
In the euro area, retail trade grew by 2.5 pct year-on-year, while in the European Union there was an advance of 3 pct. Retail trade in the 28 EU countries was influenced by the fact that non-food sales increased by 4.2 pct, food, beverages and cigarettes grew by 2.6 pct, while fuel sales declined by 1.1 pct.
The largest increases were reported in Luxembourg (11.3 pct), Slovenia (10.4 pct), Ireland (8.4 pct), Slovakia (7.1 pct) and Romania (5.6 pct), the only decrease being recorded in Belgium (minus 0.8 pct).
In April 2017, retail trade grew by 0.1 pct in the euro area and by 0.5 pct in the 28 EU countries, against the previous month, after March saw a 0.2 pct advance in the euro area and a 0.1 pct decline in the European Union. Retail trade in the 28 EU countries was influenced by the fact that non-food sales went up by 0.4 pct, food, beverages and cigarettes increased by 0.6 pct, while fuel sales fell by 0.3 pct.
The largest increases were recorded in the UK (2.8 pct), Finland (2 pct), Portugal and Sweden (both by 1.5 pct), the most significant decline being reported in Croatia (minus 2.1 pct), Austria (minus 1.2 pct) and Hungary (minus 0.8 pct).
In Romania, retail trade decreased by 0.2 pct in April, as compared to the previous month, when there was an advance of 0.8 pct.
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