Eurozone retail sales expanded in May after falling in the previous month, Eurostat reported Tuesday.
Retail turnover grew 4.6 percent month-on-month in May, reversing a 3.9 percent fall in April. This was also faster than the economists' forecast of 4.4 percent.
Sales of food, drinks and tobacco dropped 0.2 percent, while non-food product sales were up 8.8 percent. Sales of automotive fuel in specialized stores grew 8.1 percent.
On a yearly basis, retail sales growth moderated to 9 percent from 23.3 percent in April. Economists had forecast sales to rise 8.2 percent.
As Covid restrictions continue to be lifted, spending in the services sector is recovering too, which will provide a significant boost to household consumption and GDP, Jack Allen-Reynolds, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
The economist expects household consumption to be the key driver of growth over the rest of the year, with the economy likely to perform even better than most expect.
Retail sales in the EU27 advanced 4.6 percent on month in May and by 9.2 percent from the same period last year.
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