Retail sales across the Eurozone fell -0.5% mom in December, a steeper decline than the expected -0.2% drop.
Detail shows a clear split between essentials and discretionary items. Food-related sales rose slightly by 0.1% mom, but non-food purchases excluding fuel slumped 1.2%, pointing to continued restraint on big-ticket and discretionary spending. Fuel sales were flat, offering little offset to the broader weakness.
The weakness was broad-based across the European Union, where retail sales also fell 0.5% on the month. Among reporting countries, Portugal (-3.1%), Sweden (-1.9%) and Denmark (-1.6%) recorded the largest declines, while Luxembourg (+7.0%), Slovakia (+3.1%) and Croatia (+1.8%) posted solid gains.
