Euro zone shoppers spend less on food, drink and tobacco, bringing down July retail sales figures

Consumers in the 17-member euro zone cut back on spending on food, drink and tobacco in July 2012, leading EU statistics office Eurostat to report that the volume of retail trade in the common currency zone was 0.2 per cent less in July than in June.
In July 2012 compared with June 2012, the volume of retail stable across the 27 members of the EU, Eurostat said on September 5 2012 in a first estimates report.
In June, retail trade rose by 0.1 per cent and 0.2 per cent in the euro zone and in the EU, respectively.
In July 2012, compared with July 2011, the retail sales index fell by 1.7 per cent in the euro area and by 0.2 per cent in the EU27.
Monthly comparison
In July 2012, compared with June 2012, “Food, drinks and tobacco” decreased by 0.9 per cent in the euro area and by 0.6 per cent in the EU27. The non food sector rose by 0.9 per cent and 0.7 per cent, respectively.
Among EU member states for which data are available, total retail trade rose in 12, fell in seven and remained stable in Denmark and Finland. The largest decreases were observed in Spain (-1.9 per cent), Malta and Austria (both -1.7 per cent) as well as Germany and Slovenia (both -0.9 per cent). The highest increases were registered in Latvia (+2.7 per cent), Ireland (+1.7 per cent) and Poland (+1.6 per cent).
Annual comparison
In July 2012, compared with July 2011, “Food, drinks and tobacco” fell by 1.7 per cent in the euro area and by 0.8 per cent in the EU27. The non food sector decreased by 1.0 per cent in the euro area, while it increased by 1.2 per cent in the EU27.
Among EU member states for which data are available, total retail trade rose in 12 and fell in nine. The largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-7.6 per cent), Spain (-7.3 per cent) and Malta (-4.2 per cent), and the highest increases in Latvia (+10.3 per cent), Estonia (+6.5 per cent) and Lithuania (+5.7 per cent).
( Peter van Kranen/sxc.hu)

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