Eurozone consumers cut spending on food, drinks and tobacco for the second month in a row in May due to rising prices, according to estimates from the European Union’s statistics agency Eurostat, released on Wednesday.
Despite a drop in essential purchases, total retail sales in the 19-country currency bloc increased slightly in May of the month, but below market expectations.
Eurostat said retail sales rose 0.2% in May from a month earlier, after falling 1.4% in April.
Economists polled in a Reuters poll had expected a 0.4% rise on the month.
Compared to the same period last year, retail sales also grew by 0.2% in May, Eurostat said, beating market expectations for a 0.4% drop.
Despite the marginal increase in retail spending, food, beverage and tobacco sales fell 0.3% on the month, extending the 2.3% drop recorded in April, which was the worst drop since June 2020, when countries Eurozone countries have started to reopen their economies after the lockdowns against Covid-19.
However, Eurostat slightly revised up its preliminary estimate of a decline in retail sales in April, which initially estimated at 2.6%.
For the year, sales of food, beverages and tobacco dropped 3.6% in May, matching the decline recorded a month earlier, in line with the downward trend that began in December.
The drop in purchases of essential goods coincided with a record spike in prices, with inflation of 8.1% in May and an estimated 8.6% in June.
Source: CNN Brasil

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