Eurozone Retail Sales Rise Marginally In April

(RTTNews) - Eurozone retail sales grew only marginally in April as growth in food and auto fuel turnover was partially offset by the fall in non-food product sales, Eurostat reported Friday.

The monthly growth in retail sales softened to 0.1 percent in April from 0.4 percent in March. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent rise.

Food, drinks and tobacco sales logged a faster growth of 0.5 percent, following a 0.1 percent rise. Likewise, automotive fuel in specialised stores rose 1.3 percent after a 0.6 percent gain.

Meanwhile, non-food product sales dropped 0.3 percent, reversing March's 0.5 percent increase.

On a yearly basis, retail sales growth accelerated to 2.3 percent in April from 1.9 percent in March. The rate was also better than forecast of 1.4 percent.

Retail sales in the EU rose 0.7 percent month-on-month in April, taking the annual growth to 2.8 percent.