Eurozone Retail Sales Inch Higher

Real retail sales in the Eurozone rose by 0.2% from the previous month in May of 2026, rebounding from the revised 0.3% drop in the earlier period and not far from expectations of a 0.3% increase. Retail volumes were higher for food, drinks, and tobacco (0.6% vs 0.8% in April) and inched up for non-food products net of fuel (0.1% vs -0.6%). In turn, retail volumes fell for a second month in automotive fuel in specialized stores (-0.5% vs -3.6%), aligned with the increase in prices of petrol and distilled fuel as the war in the Middle East lowered global fuel supply. From the previous year, retail sales volumes were 1.6% higher in the currency bloc.

Retail sales volumes in the Eurozone fell 0.4% month-over-month in April 2026, following an upwardly revised 0.8% jump in March and compared to forecasts of a 0.3% drop. Sales decreased 0.9% for non-food products (except automotive fuel) and were down 2.7% for automotive fuel in specialised stores. In contrast, sales rose 0.9% for food, drinks, tobacco. Among the bloc's largest economies, retail sales in Germany decreased 0.2% and in Spain sales dropped 1.5% while in France, sales rose 0.3%. Year-on-year, retail sales went up 1%, less than an upwardly revised 2.1% jump in March and compare to forecasts of 0.3%.

Eurozone retail sales volumes declined by 0.1% month-over-month in March 2026, marking the third consecutive monthly drop but outperforming market expectations of a 0.3% fall. Fuel sales led the decline, plunging 1.6%, the steepest decrease since August 2023, due to rising fuel costs tied to the Middle East war. Food trade also fell by 0.3%, following a 0.5% drop in the previous month. In contrast, non-food product sales rose by 0.6%, the first increase since November. Among the bloc’s largest economies, sales fell in Germany (-2.1%) and Italy (-0.1%), but increased in Spain (1.2%), the Netherlands (1.1%) and France (0.2%). Annually, retail trade growth slowed to 1.2% in March from 1.3%, slightly above forecasts of 1%.