The retail sector in Portugal remains subdued, with sales falling 1.6% in October compared to the month before.
September had seen an even greater decline of 2.5%. This followed the better months of July and August when retail sales had increased.
Portugal’s 1.6% drop for the month was the largest in the eurozone.
But compared to the year before, consumer purchases in Portugal were more during each month of the last six in 2014 than they had been in 2013. Comparing October 2014 to October 2013, the increase was 0.7%, although previous months had shown healthier increases.
Monthly sales in the UK and Germany, on the other hand, were up, both increasing by 1.9% in October.
The October average across all the eurozone countries was an increase of 0.4%. This was due to more purchases of non-food items, such as clothing, computer and electrical goods as well as increased spending on automotive fuel. Spending on food remained the same as it had been in September.
