Eurozone retail sales stagnate in May

Eurozone retail sales stagnated in May, European Union statistics agency Eurostat said on Thursday, with higher spending on non-food items offsetting falls foodstuffs and petrol.

Retail sales volumes in the single currency bloc were unchanged from April and 2.9% lower year-on-year. Economists had forecast a 0.2% monthly rise and a 2.7% annual decline.

Food, drink and tobacco sales were down 0.5% from April and car fuel sales 0.3%. Non-food sales were 0.1% higher, although online sales declined by 0.9%.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com