Romania Retail Sales Fall at Softer Pace

Romania’s retail sales fell 6.1% year-on-year in July 2026, marking the twelfth consecutive month of decline, but easing from an upwardly revised 7.4% drop in the previous month. The softer contraction was broad-based, with sales falling less sharply in food, beverages and tobacco (-5.8% vs -7.3% in June), non-food products (-6.7% vs -6.8%), and automotive fuel in specialized stores (-4.4% vs -5.8%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail trade rose 0.8%, rebounding from an upwardly revised 1.3% drop in June. In the first seven months of the year, retail sales declined 5.8% from the same period a year earlier.

Retail sales in Romania fell 7.3% year-on-year in June 2026, deepening from a downwardly revised 5.1% decline in May and marking the eleventh consecutive month of contraction. It was also the steepest annual decline since April 2020, as sales weakened across all major categories. Sales of food, beverages, and tobacco posted the largest drop (-7.3% vs -4.8% in May), while declines also intensified for non-food products (-6.4% vs -5.7%) and automotive fuel sold in specialized stores (-5.8% vs -3.4%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail sales fell 1.2% in June, reversing a downwardly revised 0.8% increase in the previous month.

Retail sales in Romania fell by 4.7% year-on-year in May 2026, easing from a downwardly revised 6.2% drop in the previous month. This marked the tenth consecutive month of decline in retail activity albeit at a softer pace, driven largely by a smaller decrease in sales for automotive fuel in specialized stores (-2% vs -2.2%). Turnover also declined at a lesser extent for food, beverages, and tobacco (-4.3% vs -6.1% in April) and non-food products (-5.3% vs -7.6%). On a monthly basis, retail activity grew by 1.3% in May, rebounding from a downwardly revised 2.4% drop in the preceding period.