Eurozone retail sales fall more than expected

(Sharecast News) - Retail sales across the eurozone failed to grow for the third straight month in December as food, drinks, and tobacco volumes dropped sharply. According to Eurostat, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade was 0.2% lower over the month, following a flat reading in November and the 0.3% decline seen in October.

The consensus forecast was for a smaller fall of 0.1%.

Food, drinks and tobacco sales fell by 0.7% in December, outweighing a 0.3% increase in non-food products and a 0.2% rise in automotive fuel sales.

The largest monthly falls in the retail volumes were seen in Slovenia (-2.2%) and Germany (-1.6%), while the highest increases were seen in Slovakia (+8.2%), Finland (+2.1%) and Spain (+1.4%).

On an annual basis, retail sales across the single-currency region were 1.9% higher than December 2023, up from 1.6% year-on-year growth in November, matching analysts' expectations.