By Tuba Ongun
ANKARA (AA) - Euro area retail sales tumbled by 1.2% from a month ago in March, worse than economists' expectations as consumer spending was weighed down by persistent inflation and rising borrowing costs, according to the latest data released on Friday.
The market forecast had been a 0.1% decline in March's reading, following a 0.2% drop in February.
"In the euro area in March, compared with February, the volume of retail trade decreased by 1.4% for food, drinks and tobacco and by 1.1% for non-food products, while it increased by 1.6% for automotive fuels," read a statement by Eurostat, the EU's statistical office.
On an annual basis, retail sales in the euro area plunged by 3.8% in March.
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 dove 1.1% in March on the previous month and 4.1% from a year ago.
The largest monthly decreases were in Latvia (down 2.7%), Germany and Poland (both down 2.4%) and Luxembourg (down 1.9%).
On the flip side, Romania (2.9%), Portugal (2.3%), and Ireland (1%) posted the largest monthly rises.