Euro area retail trade volume fell -0.1% MoM (vs 0.0% MoM expected) in March but was up 1.5% YoY, continuing a modest upward trend on an annual basis.

• Food, drinks, and tobacco sales declined -0.1% MoM and rose 0.6% YoY.
• Non-food product sales (excluding fuel) fell -0.1% MoM but rose 2.3% YoY.
• Automotive fuel sales rose 0.4% MoM and were up 0.9% YoY.
• The largest MoM retail declines were in Slovenia (-2.0%), Estonia (-1.3%), and Slovakia (-0.9%), while Malta (+2.0%), Belgium and Croatia (both +1.4%) posted the strongest gains.
• On an annual basis, Luxembourg (+9.4%), Bulgaria (+5.4%), and Cyprus (+5.0%) led growth; Slovakia (-2.9%), Poland (-1.8%), and Italy (-1.4%) saw the largest declines.