+0.1%. That is all euro area retail trade volume gained in August, according to Eurostat’s first estimate published on 6 October. The EU as a whole posted the same figure.
A thin rebound, especially after July. Eurostat kept that month’s euro area decline at 0.6% and revised the EU figure to −0.5%. Year on year, the euro area is up 0.8% and the EU 1.2%.
Non-food carries the gain
In the euro area, non-food sales (excluding fuel) rose 0.5% on the month and 1.7% on the year. Food, drinks and tobacco edged up 0.1% month on month. Automotive fuel in specialised stores fell: −1.9% on the month, −3.7% on the year.
Wide gaps between countries
Month on month, Romania (+2.3%), Sweden (+1.4%) and Germany (+1.3%) posted the largest increases among countries with available data. Luxembourg dropped 9.4%.
The annual picture is different. Sweden (+7.7%), Cyprus (+7.5%) and Estonia (+6.0%) lead. At the bottom: Malta (−2.4%), Spain (−0.6%), Italy (−0.5%) and Germany (−0.4%). The euro area’s largest market bounced on the month without closing its annual gap.
Eurostat’s next release, covering September, is due on 6 November.
Sources
Photo: Raimond Spekking, via Wikimedia Commons, licensed, CC BY-SA 4.0.