Estonia posts EU's biggest drop in retail in June

Photo: Raigo Pajula / Postimees

The monthly rate of decline in retail volumes in Estonia was bigger than in any other country of the European Union in June and, at 3.3 percent, was much higher than the reductions of 1.9 percent and 1.7 percent posted by Hungary and Austria, or countries which suffered the second and third biggest setbacks.

«The drop was primarily a result of reductions in the retail sale of motor fuel and household equipment,» Epp Karus, head of the department for service statistics at Statistics Estonia, told BNS.

The volume of retail trade fell by 0.5 percent in the euro area and by 0.3 in the EU27 in June compared with May 2013, according to estimates published on Monday by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Year on year, compared with June 2012, the retail sales index dropped by 0.9 percent in the euro area and rose by 0.1 percent in the EU27.

The highest increases were reported in Malta, 1.8 percent, Luxembourg, 1.3 percent, and Denmark, 1.2 percent.

Year on year, the largest decreases were observed in Spain, 6.9 percent, Slovenia, 3.6 percent, and Romania, percent. The highest increases were seen in Luxembourg, 27.5 percent, Lithuania, 6.7 percent, and Poland, 5.5 percent.