Eurozone Retail Sales Rebound 0.8% In November

(RTTNews) - Eurozone retail sales rebounded more-than-expected in November, led by an upturn in sales of non-food products, data published by Eurostat showed on Monday.

Retail sales rose 0.8 percent month-on-month in November, in contrast to the 1.5 percent decrease in October, which was the biggest monthly decline since December 2021. In the earlier report, sales dropped 1.8 percent in October.

Non-food products turnover, except automotive fuel, advanced 1.6 percent over the month, while those of food, drinks, and tobacco dropped 0.9 percent.

Sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores grew 1.0 percent. Retail sales through mail orders and the internet were 0.4 percent lower compared to last month.

On a yearly basis, retail sales declined 2.8 percent after falling 2.6 percent in October. Sales were expected to fall by 3.3 percent.

The retail turnover in the EU27 posted a monthly increase of 0.9 percent in November, reversing the prior month's 1.4 percent fall. Annually, sales were down 2.4 percent versus a 2.3 percent contraction in October.

Among member states of the EU, the largest monthly increase in retail trade volume was registered in Spain, Poland and Sweden. Meanwhile, increases were observed in Luxembourg, France, Croatia, and Slovenia.

Separate data from the Eurostat showed that Eurozone consumer price inflation slowed to a four-month low 9.2 percent in December, after energy price growth eased for the second straight month.

Inflation has eased in several euro area countries, but remains at high levels. The European Central Bank expects price growth to stay elevated for a long time, which may damp spending going forward.

Separately, survey data from the European Commission showed that the euro area consumer sentiment was less negative at the end of the year, with the confidence indicator rising to -22.2, as initially estimated, from -23.9 in the previous month.