Retail trade in Malta bounced back in September, increasing by 1.5% following a dip of 1.2% in August, while retail activity declined across both the Euro area and the European Union, according to the latest figures published by Eurostat.
The September increase places Malta among the stronger-performing EU member states for the month. Only Luxembourg, with an increase of 5.3%, and Slovakia, with an increase of 2.2%, recorded higher growth. Malta’s increase of 1.5% was followed by several smaller increases across other member states.
The European figures moved in the opposite direction. Retail trade volume declined by 0.7% in the Euro area and by 0.6% across the EU compared with August. Germany recorded the largest monthly decline at 2.0%, followed by Romania at 1.3% and Portugal at 0.9%.
On an annual basis, Malta’s retail trade volume increased by 4.7% in September compared with the same month last year. This was significantly higher than the annual increases of 0.4% in the Euro area and 0.9% across the EU.
Across the European Union, Cyprus recorded the highest annual increase at 7.6%, followed by Sweden at 6.9% and Bulgaria at 5.7%. Malta was also among the stronger performers, while Germany recorded an annual decline of 2.4%, Romania fell by 2.3% and Spain declined by 1.5%.
Eurostat’s figures measure the volume of goods sold after adjusting for price changes, as well as calendar and seasonal effects. They therefore provide an indication of changes in the quantity of goods sold rather than simply changes in retail turnover caused by higher or lower prices.
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