13/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The volume of retail trade in the euro zone was down by 0.1% in May compared to April, but increased by 0.5% in relation to May 2000, according to statistics published on Wednesday by Eurostat. In the EU15, retail sales remained stable over the month and increased by 1.5% over the year. In relation to last April (monthly variations), only the "textile, clothing and shoes" sector recorded a positive rate in the euro zone (+0.7%), whereas sales fell by 0.4% in the "food, drinks and tobacco" sector and by 0.6% in the household equipment sector. By countries and over the same period, retail sales fell by 4.0% in Portugal, 1.1% in Germany, and 0.4% in Italy, against a rise of 1.2% in Ireland and 0.8% in the Netherlands, and, outside the euro zone, 7.0% in the United Kingdom. In May 2001 (compared to May 2000), increases were recorded in the textile sector (0.1% in the euro zone and 2.9% in the EU15) and food (0.2% in the euro zone and 0.8% in the EU15).