Eurozone retail sales growth slows in March

The European Union’s statistical office, Eurostat, said on Wednesday that retail sales fell by 0.1 percent in March in both the eurozone and the EU compared to February, when the eurozone recorded a 0.2 percent increase and the EU stagnated.

On an annual basis, retail sales growth in the eurozone slowed to 1.5 percent from 1.9 percent in February, compared to the 1.6 percent expected by analysts, while growth in the EU as a whole slowed to 1.4 percent from 1.8 percent.

In the European Union, retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco products decreased by 0.4 percent in March compared to the previous month, while non-food products excluding fuel increased by 0.1 percent, and fuel increased by 0.4 percent in one month.