Retail sales in the Eurozone rose by 0.6% MoM in January 2020, recovering from a revised decline of 1.1% in December and meeting market expectations, according to Eurostat calculations published by the European Union Statistical Office.

On an annual basis in January, the retail sales index reported a 1.7% increase for the Eurozone and 2.1% for the EU.

Monthly comparison by the retail sector and by Member State

In the Eurozone in January 2020, retail trade volume increased on a monthly basis by 1.9% for motor fuels, 0.7% for food, beverages, and tobacco and 0.4% for non-food products. In the EU as a whole, retail trade recorded growth of 1.9% for motor fuels, 0.7% for food, beverages, and tobacco and 0.3% for non-food products.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the largest increase is recorded in total retail trade in Slovenia (+5.6%), Portugal (+4.2%) and Romania (+ .5%). The largest reductions were observed in Belgium (-2.4%), Ireland (-1.7%) and Malta (-0.7%).

Annual comparison by retail sector and by Member State

On an annual basis, in January 2020, the retail trade volume in the Eurozone increased by 2.4% for non-food products and by 0.7% for both motor fuels and food, beverages and tobacco. In the EU, retail sales grew by 3.2% for non-food products, 0.9% for food, beverages, and tobacco and 0.8% for cars.

Among the Member States for which data are available, the largest annual increase in total retail trade was registered in Romania (+11.0%), Hungary (+7.6%) and Lithuania (+5.5%). Reductions were observed in Belgium (-1.4%) and Slovakia (-1.0%).