According to the European Union’s Statistical Office, retail sales in the 19 eurozone countries fell 1.3% in April, rising 3.9% year-on-year.

According to a Reuters poll, economists expect a monthly increase of 0.3% and a year-over-year increase of 5.4%.

Retail sales rose in the first three months of the year.

According to Eurostat, sales of food, beverages and tobacco fell 2.6% this month, while non-food products fell 0.7%, despite a 3.4% increase in online and correspondence sales. Motor fuel sales up 1.9%

Germany, the eurozone’s largest economy, saw its decline fall to 5.4% this month. While sales increased in Spain, Luxembourg, Ireland and Malta, sales in Slovenia and Latvia were weak.

Compared to the previous year, Slovenia and Malta recorded the largest increases, followed by Finland, Luxembourg and Belgium.

(Reported by Jan Strupczewski; French edition by Augustine Turpin, edited by Kate Entringer)