According to the report of the Statistical Office of the European Union Eurostat, the volume of retail sales in the eurozone in August decreased by 1.2% compared to the previous month. 

This decrease turned out to be higher than analysts expected, who predicted a decrease of 0.5%. The current figure was the most significant decline in the last eight months.

The revised data also showed that retail sales decreased by 0.1% in July, in contrast to the previous estimate, which was 0.2%. 

Sales of motor fuel decreased the most – by 3%. Sales of food, beverages and tobacco products fell by 1.2%, while non-food group goods fell by 0.9%.

The most significant reductions in retail sales were recorded in Portugal (3%), France (2.8%) and Belgium (1.5%). While the largest sales growth was seen in Luxembourg (1.9%), Poland (1.7%) and Denmark (1.6%).

If we talk about the annual dynamics, retail sales in the eurozone fell by 2.1% in August, which exceeded the average forecast of experts, which was 1.2%. This indicator continues to decline for the eleventh month in a row.