Consumers in Europe appear not to want to increase their spending despite the slowing inflation in Europe, the latest retail sales figures suggest.
The volume of retail sales in the eurozone fell by 0.5% month-over-month in February, more than expected, and by 0.4% in the EU. That’s according to the seasonally adjusted first estimates from Eurostat.
Retail sales also dropped in a yearly comparison in both the EU and the eurozone, by 0.2% and 0.7% respectively, continuing a declining trend in the eurozone that has been going on for 17 consecutive months.
All categories of retail spending suffered in February.
In a monthly comparison, trade of food, drinks and tobacco decreased by 0.4%, non-food products by 0.2%, and automotive fuel by 1.4% in the bloc sharing the euro.
In the EU, the dynamic was similar across the categories. Food, drinks and tobacco sales fell by 0.5%, non-food products dropped by 0.1%, while automotive fuel sales shrank by 0.9%.
Among the member states, the largest monthly decrease was recorded in Germany and Belgium, while the highest increases were observed in Poland and Croatia.
In a yearly comparison, Belgium recorded the biggest drop by -6.8% and Croatia showed the sharpest jump by 9.2%.
The slowing European inflation fuelled expectations that spending and consumption would increase, which has so far not proven to be the case.