BRUSSELS (AFX) - Euro zone December retail sales rose 0.1 pct from November, while they were up 1.7 year-on-year compared with a 1.2 year-on-year rise in November, the EU's Eurostat statistical office said.
In the EU 15, December's retail sales rose 0.3 pct against November, while they rose 2.5 pct year-on-year against November's yearly 1.7 pct rise, Eurostat said.
In the euro zone, food, drink and tobacco sales fell by 0.2 pct in December from November, but were up 1.6 pct in December from a year earlier.
The euro zone's textiles, clothing and footwear sales rose 0.2 pct in December and were up 0.4 pct year-on year, while household goods sales fell 0.3 pct in December but were up 3.7 pct year-on-year, it said.
In the EU 15, food, drink and tobacco sales fell by 0.2 pct in December against November, but were up 1.5 pct in December from a year earlier.
The EU 15's textiles, clothing and footwear sales rose 0.9 pct in December and were up 1.8 pct year-on year, while household goods sales rose 0.4 pct in December and were up 5.5 pct year-on-year, it said.
The volume of retail trade fell by 2.5 pct in Ireland and by 0.4 pct in Spain during the month of December, while retail sales remained stable in Italy that month.
Retail sales rose in all member states where data was available, with the sharpest monthly growth rates posted in Belgium up 2.5 pct and Finland up 1.8 pct.
The other member states posted monthly rises between 0.1 and 0.4 pct.
The sharpest annual rise was seen in Ireland at 8.1 pct, tracked by Belgium at 6.8 pct, Finland at 6.2 pct and the UK at 5.7 pct.
Annual rates between 0.2 and 2.6 pct were seen in the other EU member states, with the exception of Italy which posted a 0.8 pct annual drop in retail sales and Germany a 0.2 pct decline.
For the year as a whole, the euro zone's full year retail sales rose 2.2 pct against a 2.6 pct rise in 1999, Eurostat said.
In the EU 15, retail sales rose 2.7 pct in 2000 against 2.8 pct in 1999, Eurostat said.
The yearly data is calculated as the average of the monthly indices of the year compared to the average of the indices of the previous year, it said.