Retail trade in Bulgaria in October 2014 was 3% up year-on-year – Eurostat
The volume of retail trade in Bulgaria in October 2014 was three per cent higher than in October 2013, according to figures released on December 3 by European Union statistics office Eurostat.
In September 2014, Bulgaria’s volume of retail trade was 5.4 per cent higher than in September 2013, Eurostat said.
However, the October 2014 figure was -0.1 per cent down on the previous month, while the September 2014 figure was minus one per cent down from August.
Eurostat said that in October 2014 compared with September 2014, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade rose by 0.4 per cent in the euro area (EA18) and by 0.7 per cent in the 28 member states of the EU.
In September, retail trade fell by 1.2 per cent in both zones.
In October 2014 compared with October 2013, the retail sales index increased by 1.4 per cent in the euro area and by two per cent in the EU28.
The 0.4 per cent increase in the volume of retail trade in the euro area in October 2014, compared with September 2014, was due to rises of 0.7 per cent for both the non-food sector and automotive fuel, while “Food, drinks and tobacco” remained stable, Eurostat said.
In the EU28, the 0.7 per cent increase in retail trade was due to rises of 1.2 per cent for the non-food sector, of 0.6 per cent for automotive fuel and of 0.1 per cent for “Food, drinks and tobacco”.
Among EU countries for which data are available, the highest increases in total retail trade were registered in Finland (+2.7 per cent), Germany and the United Kingdom (both +1.9 per cent), Latvia and Slovakia (both +1.5 per cent), and the largest decreases in Slovenia (-1.9 per cent), Portugal (-1.6 per cent) and Austria (-1.2 per cent).
The 1.4 per cent increase in the volume of retail trade in the euro area in October 2014, compared with October 2013, was due to rises of 2.9 per cent for automotive fuel, of 2.1 per cent for the non-food sector and of 0.4 per cent for “Food, drinks and tobacco”.
In the EU28, the two per cent increase in retail trade was due to rises of 3.1 per cent for the non-food sector, of 1.7 per cent for automotive fuel and of 0.9 per cent for “Food, drinks and tobacco”.
In an annual comparison, Eurostat said that among member states for which data are available, the highest increases in total retail trade were observed in Luxembourg (+12.5 per cent), Estonia (+6.9 per cent) and Slovakia (+6.5 per cent), while decreases were observed in Malta (-3.7 per cent) and Slovenia (-0.1 per cent).
(Photo: Vera Reis/sxc.hu)
