Eurozone's retail trade volume up in Aug

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The eurozone retail trade volume rose 0.3% month-on-month in August, the EU's statistical office announced on Thursday.

The figure also rose 0.2% in the EU28 in August compared to July, Eurostat said.

In July, the retail trade volume fell 0.5% from June in the eurozone and 0.4% in the EU28.

The eurozone/euro area represents member states that use the single currency -- euro -- while the EU28 includes all member countries of the bloc.

In the euro area, "The volume of retail trade increased 0.4% for nonfood products and 0.1% for automotive fuels, while food, drinks and tobacco remained unchanged" in August, versus July.

In the EU28 side, retail trade soared 0.3% for non-food products, 0.2% for automotive fuels, and 0.1% for food, drinks and tobacco.

Among member states for which data are available, Portugal (1.1%) posted the largest rise in the total retail trade volume, followed by Estonia (1%) and Finland (0.8%) respectively, the statistical office said.

"The largest drops were observed in Austria, Slovakia (both -1.3%) and Croatia (-1.1%)," it added.