Retail trade sales in December remained stable compared to November in euro area EA16 and fell 0.1% in the EU27. Compared with December 2008 retail sales index decline 1.6% in the euro area and 1.0% in the EU27.
The following is an unedited transcript of the news release from the Office for National Statistics.
In December 2009, compared with November 2009, the volume of retail trade remained stable in the euro area (EA16) and fell by 0.1% in the EU27. In November retail trade decreased by 0.5% in both zones.
In December 2009, compared with December 2008, the retail sales index dropped by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.0% in the EU27.
The average volume of retail trade index for 2009, compared with 2008, fell by 2.3% in the euro area and by 1.7% in the EU27.
Monthly changes
In December 2009, compared with November 2009, “Food, drinks and tobacco” gained 0.3% in both zones. The non food sector dropped by 0.2% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27.
Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade rose in twelve and fell in seven. The highest increases were observed in Austria (+1.6%), France (+1.2%), Spain, Slovenia and Slovakia (all +0.9%). The largest decreases were recorded in Romania (-5.7%), Malta (-5.6%) and Portugal (-2.8%).
Annual changes
In December 2009, compared with December 2008, “Food, drinks and tobacco” gained 0.1% in the euro area and 0.6% in the EU27. The non food sector dropped by 2.2% and 1.4% respectively.
Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade rose in seven and fell in twelve. The highest increases were observed in Poland (+4.6%), Sweden (+3.1%) and Austria (+2.7%), and the largest decreases in Latvia (-30.2%), Lithuania (-27.2%) and Estonia (-16.4%).
These first estimates come from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.
