Retail sales fell by 0.6 percent in the EU in December

Retail sales decreased by 0.6 percent in the European Union in December. In the 17 Member States of the euro zone retail sales decline was 0.8 percent compared with the November retail sales – Eurostat, the EU's statistical office reported on Tuesday.

On an annual comparision, retail sales of the EU decreased by 2 percent, retail sales of the euro zone decreased by 3.4 percent.

Compared to last December, the highest rate of decline in retail sales occurred in Spain (12.3 percent), while the highest growth was in Latvia (12.5 percent).
The Eurostat treats confidentially the December datas of a few countries for a while – including Hungary. (MTI)