Eurozone retail sales volume contracted -1.2% mom in March, much worse than expectation of -0.2% mom. The volume of retail trade decreased by -1.4% mom for food, drinks and tobacco and by -1.1% mom for non-food products, while it increased by 1.6% mom for automotive fuels.
EU retail sales declined by -1.1% mom. Among Member States for which data are available, the largest monthly decreases in the total retail trade volume were registered in Latvia (-2.7%), Germany and Poland (both -2.4%) and Luxembourg (-1.9%). The highest increases were observed in Romania (+2.9%), Portugal (+2.3%) and Ireland (+1.0%).