[attach id=271641 size="medium"]The EU saw retail trade fall by 0.3 per cent between May and June.[/attach]

Malta saw an increase of 1.8 per cent in retail trade in June, the highest of all the member states, according to Eurostat.

The EU saw retail trade fall by 0.3 per cent between May and June, having seen growth for the first time in months between April and May. Most of the decrease came from sales of food, drinks and tobacco.

The worst monthly results were seen in Estonia, which saw a decrease of 3.3 per cent. In all, trade fell in 11, remained stable in Bulgaria and fell in 10.

When compared to a year ago, the EU saw a tepid increase of 0.1 per cent, while Malta saw an increase of 1.5 per cent, the eighth largest increase.

Seven countries saw trade decrease when compared with June last year.

In the meantime, the OECD also issued its report for August, signalling that the eurozone growth in gaining in momentum, based on composite leading indicators (CLIs), which are designed to anticipate turning points in economic activity relative to trend.

The OECD said there were diverging growth patterns across major economies. The CLIs point to moderate improvements in growth in most major OECD countries but stabilising or slowing momentum in large emerging economies.

The assessment this month is practically unchanged from last month’s assessment in all major economies except China, where the CLI is now pointing to slowing momentum.