Euro Area Retail Sales Unexpectedly Decline

2026-08-06 09:15 By Joana Taborda 1 min. read

Retail sales in the Euro Area unexpectedly fell 0.3% month-on-month in June 2026, almost fully reversing an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in May and defying market expectations for a 0.1% gain.

Sales decreased for food, drinks and tobacco (-0.5% vs 0.4% in May) and non-food products except auto fuel (-0.4% vs 0.5%) while sales of auto fuel rebounded (1.5% vs -1.8%).

Considering the bloc's largest economies, retail sales declined in Germany (-1.1% vs 1.2%) and France (-0.5% vs -0.1%) but increased in Italy (0.2% vs -0.3%), Spain (0.3% vs 0.6%) and the Netherlands (0.4% vs -0.1%).

Year-on-year, retail sales were up 0.7%, the smallest gain since July 2024, following an upwardly revised 1.9% increase in May and compared to forecasts of 1%.



News Stream
Euro Area Retail Sales Unexpectedly Decline
Retail sales in the Euro Area unexpectedly fell 0.3% month-on-month in June 2026, almost fully reversing an upwardly revised 0.4% increase in May and defying market expectations for a 0.1% gain. Sales decreased for food, drinks and tobacco (-0.5% vs 0.4% in May) and non-food products except auto fuel (-0.4% vs 0.5%) while sales of auto fuel rebounded (1.5% vs -1.8%). Considering the bloc's largest economies, retail sales declined in Germany (-1.1% vs 1.2%) and France (-0.5% vs -0.1%) but increased in Italy (0.2% vs -0.3%), Spain (0.3% vs 0.6%) and the Netherlands (0.4% vs -0.1%). Year-on-year, retail sales were up 0.7%, the smallest gain since July 2024, following an upwardly revised 1.9% increase in May and compared to forecasts of 1%.
2026-08-06
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.
2026-07-06
Euro Area Retail Sales Shrink in April
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%.
2026-06-04