2022.04.0709:20:00UTC+00Eurozone Retail Sales Rise Less Than Expected In February

Eurozone retail sales grew less than expected in February as the decline in food sales deepened, data published by Eurostat showed on Thursday. Retail sales rose 0.3 percent month-on-month in February, slightly faster than the 0.2 percent increase in January. However, sales were slower than the expected growth of 0.6 percent.

Food, drinks and tobacco sales dropped 0.5 percent, following a 0.2 percent decrease. At the same time, growth in non-food products slowed to 0.8 percent from 1.1 percent. Mail orders and internet sales logged a steady growth of 1.2 percent. Meanwhile, automotive fuel sales advanced 3.2 percent, in contrast to the 1.8 percent fall in January.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth eased to 5.0 percent from 8.4 percent in the previous month.

The EU27 retail sales gained 0.3 percent on month, taking the annual growth to 5.4 percent in February, data showed.