Malta retail sales drop among sharpest in EU

Retail sales across the 16-nation eurozone fell by 0.4 percent in August following a modest 0.1 percent rise in July, European Union figures showed today.

In the wider, 27-nation EU, which includes non-euro members Britain and Poland, retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in August following a 0.1 percent rise in July, the Eurostat data agency said.

Romania posted the biggest rise at 5.2 percent, followed by increases of 1.3 percent in Lithuania and 1.1 percent in Spain.

The countries with the biggest falls were Austria, with a drop of 3.6 percent, Slovenia, 2.6 percent, and Malta, 2.1 percent.

Sales in food, drinks and tobacco fell by 0.7 percent across the eurozone while non-food products excluding fuel grew by 0.3 percent.

On a 12-month comparison, the August sales figures rose by 0.6 percent in the eurozone and 0.8 percent in the entire EU.