Eurozone retail sales volumes rose by 0.3% mom in February, falling short of the expected 0.5% mom increase. The breakdown showed modest improvements across key segments: food, drinks, and tobacco sales were up 0.3% mom; non-food products excluding automotive fuel also rose 0.3% mom; while automotive fuel sales edged up 0.2% mom.
Retail sales across the broader EU climbed just 0.2% mom, with notable divergence among member states. Cyprus led with a 4.7% gain, followed by Estonia (+2.2%) and Lithuania (+1.7%). Meanwhile, retail trade volumes declined in Bulgaria (-1.7%), the Netherlands (-1.4%), and Poland (-1.2%).
