The volume of retail trade in the euro zone dropped further by 0.2 percent in June, compared with the previous month, the European Union (EU)'s statistics bureau Eurostat said on Wednesday.
After falling in four consecutive months, the index made a temporary rebound in April, but failed to keep the momentum in May when it decreased by 0.5 percent month on month, signaling the current economic woes may be lasting.
In June, "food, drinks and tobacco" decreased by 0.2 percent on monthly basis in the 16 EU nations that use the euro, while the non food sector also declined by 0.2 percent.
Year on year, the eurozone retail sales dropped by 2.4 percent in June, with food, drinks and tobacco down by 1.3 percent and the non food sector down by 2.5 percent.
In the 27-nation EU, retail sales rose by 0.1 percent from the previous month and dropped by 1.7 percent against a year ago.
Among the member states for which data were available, total retail trade rose in seven and fell in ten on the monthly basis. The highest increase was observed in Slovenia, which was 1.7 percent, while the largest decrease was in Latvia, down by 5.1 percent.
Retail sales are an indication of household demand, one of the three major economic drivers.
Source: Xinhua
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