Luxembourg, 11/06/2003 (Agence Europe) - According to estimates published on 4 June by Eurostat, the volume of retail sales fell by 1.6% in the euro zone and by 0.7% in the European Union (EU15) during March 2003, compared to March 2002. Retail trade in the food sector (including drinks and tobacco) fell by 1.3% in the euro zone and by 0.3% in the EU15. The non-food sector dropped by 1.7% in the euro zone and by 0.8% in the EU15. Among the non-food sectors, the textiles sector (including clothing and footwear) fell by 3.2% in the euro zone and by 1.1% in the EU15, while retail sales in the household goods sector gained 0.1% and 0.4% respectively. The strongest rates of growth were noted in the United Kingdom (+2.8%) and Sweden (+2.2%). The largest falls were recorded in Portugal (-8.8%) and Germany (-4.0%).
In monthly terms (March 2003/February 2003), Eurostat points out that sales in the food sector fell by 1.3% in the euro zone and by 1.6% in the EU15. The non-food aggregate fell by 0.6% and 0.3% respectively. Among the non-food sectors, "textiles, clothing and footwear" grew by 0.9% in the euro zone and by 0.5% in the EU15, while the index for "household goods" increased by 0.1% in the euro zone but remained stable in the EU15. The only increases noted were in Ireland and the United Kingdom (+0.4% each). The largest falls were recorded in Portugal (-4.3%), Finland (-3.3%) and Germany (-2.5%).