Eurozone Retail Sales Fall 0.5%

(RTTNews) - Eurozone retail sales declined for the first time in four months in October, and at a faster-than-expected pace, data published by Eurostat showed on Thursday.

Retail sales logged a decrease of 0.5 percent on a monthly basis in October, reversing a 0.5 percent rise in September. The expected fall was 0.4 percent.

Sales of non-food products fell 0.9 percent over the month, and those of automotive fuel in specialized stores dropped by 0.3 percent. Meanwhile, food, drinks, and tobacco sales rebounded by 0.1 percent.

Year-on-year, retail sales growth eased to 1.9 percent from 3.0 percent in September.

In the EU, retail sales declined 0.3 percent from September, while they grew 2.1 percent from the previous year.