Retail trade falls 10.8 percent year on year in Romania, Western European figures pick up

Other countries saw a steeper decline, 29.1 percent in Latvia, 24.7 percent for Lithuania and 13.4 percent in Slovenia.
In October 2009, compared with October 2008, food, drink and tobacco retail fell by 1.6 percent in the euro area and by 0.8 percent in the EU27. The non-food sector decreased by 1.3 percent in the euro area, but rose by 0.1 percent in the EU27.
Other countries in Western Europe have started to see retail trade increasing: Belgium, with a 4.4 percent y-o-y rise in October, Austria, with 3.4 percent and Poland, 3.9 percent. Sweden posted a 4.1 percent retail increase during this period, compared to last year, and the UK, 2.7 percent. Month on month, Lithuania saw a rise of 1.9 percent, Poland, of 1.6 percent. Denmark, 1.3 percent and Portugal, 1.7 percent.
Corina Saceanu