Seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose 2.7% month-on-month in euro area, 2.6% in EU, according to Eurostat
The eurozone retail trade volume posted a rise for the second month in a row in March, according to figures released by the EU’s statistical authority on Thursday.
The seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose by 2.7% in the euro area from a month earlier, Eurostat said.
Retail trade volume in the eurozone climbed 4.6% for non-food products and 1% for food, drinks and tobacco, while decreasing 2.9% for automotive fuels.
Retail trade also increased 2.5% in the EU during the same period.
“Among Member States for which data are available, the highest monthly increases in total retail trade were registered in Denmark (22.5%), the Netherlands (8.4%), Germany and Lithuania (both 7.7%),” read a Eurostat statement.
“The largest decreases were observed in Croatia (-4.0%), Poland (-2.2%) and Austria (-1.9%).”
The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the single currency euro while the EU27 includes all member countries of the bloc.
Battered by the coronavirus pandemic last year, the calendar adjusted volume of retail trade in March jumped 12% in the euro area and 11.6% in the EU compared to March 2020.
The highest annual rise in total retail trade volume was seen in Slovenia (24%), Denmark (22.6%) and France (21.3%), while it declined the most in Hungary (-2.1%), Portugal (-1.1%) and Malta (-0.1%), according to Eurostat.