Retail trade in the European Union and the euro area in March fell slightly reflecting a decrease in fuel sales whereas in Croatia it increased strongly, the latest Eurostat report released on Wednesday indicates. Pročitaj više

In March, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 0.2% in the EU and by 0.4% in the euro area compared with February, when it increased by 0.3% and 0.4% respectively.

The volume of retail trade in the EU and euro area dropped the most at petrol stations, by 3% and 2.9% respectively.

The retail sale of non-food products also decreased, by 0.7% in the EU and 1.2% in the euro area.

An increase in the volume of retail trade was reported only for food products, beverages and tobacco, of 0.6% in the EU and 0.8% in the euro area.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the highest increases were observed in Slovenia (+11.4%), Latvia (+11.1%), and Hungary (+7.3%).

Croatia registered a month-on-month increase in the volume of retail trade of 4.0%, the strongest increase since November 2020. In February it increased by 0.8%.

The largest monthly decreases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Spain (-4.0%), Luxembourg (-3.3%) and France (-1.9%).

The highest year-on-year increases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Slovenia (+25.6%), Estonia (+18.4%) and Malta (+16.4%).

The largest decreases were observed in Denmark (-11.0%), Spain (-4.8%), and Belgium (-3.9%).

The volume of retail trade in Croatia in March increased by 5.5% year on year after a 0.7% decrease in February.

Romania registered a similar increase in the volume of retail trade, of 5.4%.