CEI

Household real income and consumption up in the euro area In the euro area, the household saving rate remained stable due to real final consumption expenditure increasing at the same pace (+0.2%) as real gross disposable income. The latter increased due to nominal income increasing more (+0.7%) than consumption prices (+0.5%). Source: http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/cache/ITY_PUBLIC/2-01082012-AP/EN/2-01082012-AP-EN.PDF

Monthly comparison In July 2012, compared with June 2012, “Food, drinks and tobacco” decreased by 0.9% in the euro area and by 0.6% in the EU27. The non food sector rose by 0.9% and 0.7% respectively. Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade rose in twelve, fell in seven and remained stable in Denmark and Finland. The largest decreases were observed in Spain (-1.9%), Malta and Austria (both -1.7%) as well as Germany and Slovenia (both -0.9%). The highest increases were registered in Latvia (+2.7%), Ireland (+1.7%) and Poland (+1.6%). Annual comparison In July 2012, compared with July 2011, “Food, drinks and tobacco” fell by 1.7% in the euro area and by 0.8% in the EU27. The non food sector decreased by 1.0% in the euro area, while it increased by 1.2% in the EU27. Among the Member States for which data are available, total retail trade rose in twelve and fell in nine. The largest decreases were observed in Portugal (-7.6%), Spain (-7.3%) and Malta (-4.2%), and the highest increases in Latvia (+10.3%), Estonia (+6.5%) and Lithuania (+5.7%).