In Europe, retail sales slide

BRUSSELS, April 4 (UPI) -- Retail sales fell throughout Europe in February, the official data office Eurostat said Wednesday.

Sales receipts in the 17-nation eurozone and the 27-member European Union dropped 0.1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, Eurostat said.

Sales of food, drinks and tobacco rose 0.6 percent in the eurozone and 0.4 percent in the EU month to month. Sales of non-food items were unchanged in the eurozone and down 0.3 percent in the EU, data shows.

Retail sales fell in 10 states and rose in 11 where data was available. The largest decreases were in Slovenia (5 percent), Poland (2.7 percent) and Romania (2.5 percent). The largest increases were in Malta (4.7 percent), Luxembourg (2.2 percent) and Denmark (1.9 percent).