Eurozone retail sales rise record high

Euro zone retail sales rose roughly in line with expectations in June though less steeply than in May, when consumers flocked back to shops after coronavirus restrictions were eased.

The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday that retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 1.5 per cent month-on-month in June and were 5.0 per cent higher than a year earlier.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 1.7 per cent monthly rise and forecast a 4.5 per cent year-on-year increase.

The monthly increase was not uniform. Sales rose steepest in Ireland, Germany and Latvia, partly reflecting the timing lockdowns were lifted, but were down in June in Malta, Austria, Portugal and in the Benelux countries.

June marked a second consecutive monthly increase after May’s 4.1 per cent surge, albeit that represented a downward revision from the initial estimate of 4.6 per cent.

Eurostat said sales of non-food products, excluding fuel for cars, increased in June by 3.4 per cent on the month and were 6.5 per cent higher from a year earlier.