Brussels, 05/10/2005 (Agence Europe) - In August 2005, compared to August 2004, the volume of retail trade grew by 2.0% in the euro-zone and by 2.2% in the EU25. Compared to July 2005, the retail sales index rose by 0.9% in the euro-zone and by 0.7% in the EU25. In August 2005, compared to August 2004, retail trade of “food, drinks and tobacco” gained 1.2% in the euro-zone and 1.5% in the EU25. The non food sector increased by 2.9% and by 2.8% respectively. Total retail trade rose in Latvia (+22.6%), Lithuania (+14.0%), Slovenia (+13.8%), Slovakia (+11.6%), Denmark (+9.2%), Belgium (+6.7%), Sweden (+6.3%), Finland (+6.2%), France (+4.1%), Poland (+3.7%), Spain (+2.5%), Portugal (+1.2%) and the United Kingdom (+0.9%), while falls were recorded in Luxembourg (-4.4%) and Germany (-0.8%). In August 2005, compared with July 2005, “food, drinks and tobacco” grew by 0.8% in the euro-zone and by 0.4% in the EU25. The non food sector increased by 1.1% and 0.8% respectively. Total retail trade increased in Portugal (+4.0%), Slovenia (+3.7%), Latvia (+2.0%), Slovakia (+1.6%), Poland (+1.5%), France (+1.4%), Denmark (+0.8%), Lithuania (+0.7%) and Finland (+0.4%), while the United Kingdom remained unchanged. Falls were recorded in Luxembourg (-1.8%), Belgium (-0.9%), Germany (-0.8%), Sweden (-0.5%) and Spain (-0.2%).