Euro area retail sales increased for the first time in four months in October, largely due to an increase in sales of non-food products, figures from Eurostat showed on Wednesday.
Retail trade advanced 0.1 percent month-on-month in October, in contrast to a 0.1 percent drop in September. Sales were expected to increase by 0.2 percent.
Sales of non-food products rose 0.8 percent monthly in October, while those for food, drinks, and tobacco dropped by 1.1 percent.
Data showed that sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores fell 0.8 percent. Sales via orders and the internet showed a growth of 2.2 percent.
Data showed that retail sales in the EU27 slid 0.3 percent per month, taking the annual fall to 0.9 percent in October.
Meanwhile, Croatia, the Netherlands, and Slovakia posted the highest monthly increases in retail sales.
