By Scott Kanowsky
Investing.com -- Euro area retail sales rose in May, recovering from a decline in the previous month but still below expectations, according to the EU statistics office.
Monthly seasonally adjusted total retail volumes in the currency bloc came in at 0.2%, up from the April reading of -1.4%. Analysts had forecast a rise of 0.4%.
The increase was driven by a 1.2% uptick in total trade volumes for non-food products, which helped to offset a fall in food and automotive fuel sales.
Retail spending for food, drinks, and tobacco dropped 0.3%, while car fuel sales volumes decreased by 0.2%, suggesting a recent surge in consumer prices may be weighing on demand for these items.
The highest monthly rise was in Cyprus, which jumped by 9.0%, while Croatia and Portugal also saw increases. The largest decline came in Ireland, which slumped by 6.5%. Austria and Finland were also among the biggest laggards.