Belgium Leads EU in Retail Sales Growth
March 5, 2013, 1:19 pm
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Shoppers on Antwerp's famous Meir.
photo: Jean Housen (CC3)
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BRUSSELS — Belgian retail sales this January were 8.4 percent higher than in January 2012, the strongest growth among the 27 European Union member states. Overall, sales fell in Europe over the same period.
According to the figures, released today by Eurostat, January's retail sales across the continent were lower than a year earlier, by 0.9 pc in the EU-27 and 1.3 pc lower in the 17-country Eurozone.
Luxembourg (+7.1 pc), Latvia (+5.2 pc) and France (+3.2 pc) also showed strong gains. Slovenia (-7.6%), Bulgaria (-5.5%) and Portugal (-3.9) suffered the greatest decreases.
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