BRUSSELS, Dec. 4 (UPI) -- Retail sales dropped 0.2 percent September to October in the eurozone and 0.4 percent in the European Union, the data office Eurostat said Wednesday.
It was the second consecutive month-to-month decline in retail sales, which also dropped 0.1 percent from September 2012, although the 28-member EU posted a gain of 0.5 percent from 12 months prior.
On an annual basis, automobile sales rose 1.7 percent in the eurozone, the 17 nations that share the euro as currency, and 0.6 percent in the EU, numbers that are dwarfed by gains in other markets.
The European Commission's data office said the highest gains in retail in Europe were in Bulgaria, with sales up 6.9 percent, Estonia with sales up 6.4 percent and Poland were sales rose 0.5 percent.
The largest declines were Belgium, Denmark and Slovenia with sales off 3.8 percent, 2.4 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively.
