Eurozone retail sales declined more-than-expected in March as sales of automotive fuel and non-food products weakened, data published by Eurostat showed on Wednesday.
Retail Sales dropped 0.4 percent in March, in contrast to a 0.4 percent in rise in February. Economists had forecast a 0.1 percent drop for the month. Automotive fuel sales in specialized stores shrunk declined 2.9 percent and non-food products registered a fall of 1.2 percent. Mail orders and internet sales decreased 4.3 percent compared to last month.
On a yearly basis, total retail trade growth eased markedly to 0.8 percent in March from 5.2 percent in February.
The EU27 retail sales dropped 0.2 percent on month, while it gained 1.7 percent yearly in March.
