Eurozone retail sales inch higher, meet forecasts

(Sharecast News) - Retail sales across the eurozone inched higher in August, according to figures released by Eurostat on Monday. Seasonally adjusted retail trade volumes rose by just 0.2% during the month following a flat reading for July and a 0.4% decline in June.

The reading was in line with economists' predictions and the highest rate of growth - albeit only marginal - since March when sales were up 0.6% over the month.

According to Eurostat, food, drinks and tobacco sales were up 0.2% during August, while sales of non-food products excluding fuel rose 0.3% and fuel sales increased 1.1%.

The strongest monthly increases were seen in Luxembourg (+5.3%) and Cyprus (+2.2%), while the steepest declines were registered in Slovakia (-1.1%) and Croatia (-0.7%).