European retail sales report strong slide in December | Progresiv
Retail sales across Europe slipped significantly in December, snapping a two-month streak of growth across the region, according to the latest figures from Eurostat. 
On a month-on-month basis, seasonally-adjusted retail volumes were down 1.6% across the 19-member euro area and were down 1.4% across the 28-member EU. Those results compared to a 0.8% and 1.0% rise in November, respectively.
Meanwhile, sales grew by 0.8% across the euro area on a year-on-year basis, while rising by 1.2% in the EU bloc. However, this was a slowdown from the 1.4% and 2.0% growth reported in November.
The results were impacted by weakness in sales of non-food products – volumes of such items were down 2.7% month-on-month in the euro area and 2.6% in the EU. Sales of food, drinks & tobacco slid by 0.3% and 0.4%, respectively, when compared to November 2018.
Meanwhile, on annual basis, non-food sales edged up 0.5% in the euro area and 1.2% in the EU, while sales of food, drinks & tobacco grew by 0.7% and 0.6%, respectively. (www.kamcity.com)
