Brussels, 08/04/2010 (Agence Europe) - The volume of retail trade sales fell by 0.6% in the eurozone in February 2010, compared to January 2010, when it fell by 0.2%. In the EU27, the index remained stable, having dropped by 0.4% the previous month. Compared to February 2009, the sales volume was up 1.1% in the eurozone and 0.7% in the EU27.
Compared to January 2010, the "food, drinks and tobacco" sector fell by 1.6% in the eurozone and 1.3% in the EU27. The non-food sector grew by 0.2% and 0.6% respectively. Retail sales fell in 13 member states but grew in seven. The largest drops were to be observed in Portugal (-3.4%), Estonia (-2.3%) and in Slovenia (-1.7%), and the greatest increases in the United Kingdom (+2.2%), Malta (+0.9%) and France (+0.6%).
In comparison with February 2009, the "food, drinks and tobacco" sector was down 3.1% in the eurozone and 2.7% in the EU27. The non-food sector grew by 0.7% and 2.1% respectively. On a country-by-country basis, retail sales dropped in 14 member states, including Lithuania (-17.1%), Latvia (-13.3%) and Bulgaria (-12.4%), and increased in six others, notably Austria (+3.2%), Malta (+3.1%) and the United Kingdom (+2.8%). (A.B./trans.fl)