The Eurozone retail sales fell 2% in August year-on-year reading, accentuating the expected 1.7% decline and the 1.2% drop seen in July (figure revised downwards from -0.9%). This is the third consecutive month of declines for the indicator, according to Eurostat, the statistics office of the European Union.

On a monthly basis, retail sales fell 0.3%, slightly moderating the previous and expected 0.4% drop. July’s figure has been revised down from +0.3% published a month ago to -0.4% today.

In the euro area in August 2022, compared to July 2022, the retail trade volume decreased 0.8% for food, beverages and tobaccowhile it increased 0.2% for non-food products and 3.2% for automobile fuels.

Among the Member States for which data is available, the largest monthly decreases in the total volume of retail trade were recorded in the Netherlands (-2.2%), Germany (-1.3%) and Malta (-1.1%). The largest increases were seen in Slovenia (+7.0%), Luxembourg (+3.8%) and Ireland (+3.5%).

EUR/USD reaction

The EUR/USD It has barely reacted to the data, moving just 10 pips around 0.9890, where it is trading 0.16% above its opening price. Previously, the pair hit a daily low at 0.9875.