Eurozone retail sales shrink in November 2023

By Tuba Ongun

Euro area retail sales ticked down 0.3% from a month earlier in November, meeting market forecast, according to official data released on Monday.

The figure switched from an upwardly revised growth of 0.4% in October 2023, the Eurostat data showed.

The volume of retail trade dropped 0.4% for non-food products and by 0.1% for food, drinks and tobacco, while rose by 1.4% for automotive fuels.

On an annual basis, retail sales in the euro area decreased 1.1% in November 2023, following a 0.8% year-on-year decline in October.

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the bloc's single currency, the euro, while the EU27 includes all of its member countries.

For the EU, retail sales decreased by 0.2% in November compared to the prior month and 1% from a year ago.

The largest monthly decreases were in Germany (2.5%), Luxembourg (1.4%) and Austria (0.7%).

On the flip side, Portugal (3.1%), Croatia and Slovenia (both 3.0%), Malta and Romania (both 1.7%) saw the largest monthly increases.