Volume of retail trade in euro area falls 0.5% in April from March, 1.1% year-over-year; in EU, retail trade volume dips 0.7% from March, 0.6% year-over-year: Eurostat

Cindy Allen

BRUSSELS , June 5, 2013 (press release) – In April 2013, compared with March 2013, the volume of retail trade1 fell by 0.5% in the euro area2 (EA17) and by 0.7% in the EU272, according to estimates from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

In March3 retail trade decreased by 0.2% and 0.1% respectively. In April 20134, compared with April 2012, the retail sales index dropped by 1.1% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27.

EU27.

Monthly comparison

In April 2013, compared with March 2013, “Food, drinks and tobacco” fell by 2.0% in the euro area and by 2.3% in the EU27. The non-food sector rose by 0.6% and 0.3% respectively.

Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade fell in thirteen and rose in eight. The largest decreases were registered in Finland (-3.6%), Latvia and the United Kingdom (both -2.0%), and the highest increases in Hungary (+5.2%), Romania (+1.9%) and Malta (+1.6%).

Annual comparison

In April 2013, compared with April 2012, “Food, drinks and tobacco” fell by 1.9% in the euro area and by 2.2% in the EU27. The non-food sector dropped by 0.3% in the euro area and rose by 0.6% in the EU27.

Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade fell in nine and rose in twelve. The largest decreases were observed in Spain (-6.5%), Slovenia (-4.9%) and Malta (-4.3%), and the highest increases in Latvia (+6.2%), Lithuania and Hungary (both +3.3%).

1. Based on data adjusted for calendar and seasonal effects. Seasonally adjusted euro area and EU series are calculated by aggregating the seasonally adjusted national data. Eurostat carries out the seasonal adjustment of the data for those countries that do not adjust their data for seasonal effects.

The weights of the Member States in the EU and euro area aggregates can be found at:

https://circabc.europa.eu/w/browse/5e6d1e48-056c-4c6a-8278-3ab138bcf575

More detailed data can be found in the short-term statistics database on the Eurostat website: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/portal/page/portal/short_term_business_statistics data/database

2. The euro area (EA17) includes Belgium, Germany, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Spain, France, Italy, Cyprus, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Austria, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia and Finland.

The EU27 includes Belgium (BE), Bulgaria (BG), the Czech Republic (CZ), Denmark (DK), Germany (DE), Estonia (EE), Ireland (IE), Greece (EL), Spain (ES), France (FR), Italy (IT), Cyprus (CY), Latvia (LV), Lithuania (LT), Luxembourg (LU), Hungary (HU), Malta (MT), the Netherlands (NL), Austria (AT), Poland (PL), Portugal (PT), Romania (RO), Slovenia (SI), Slovakia (SK), Finland (FI), Sweden (SE) and the United Kingdom (UK). Tables also include Norway (NO), Switzerland (CH) and Croatia (HR).

3. Data of previous months have been revised compared to those issued in the News Release 72/2013 of 6 May 2013. The monthly growth rates for March 2013 have been revised from -0.1% to -0.2% in the EA17 and from -0.2% to -0.1% in the EU27. The annual growth rates have been revised from -2.4% to -2.2% in the EA17 and from -1.6% to -1.2% in the EU27.

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