Cyprus posts EU’s strongest annual retail trade growth in July 2026

Nicosia, Cyprus. Cyprus recorded the European Union’s strongest annual increase in retail trade volume in July 2026, with sales volumes rising 8.6 per cent from the same month a year earlier, Eurostat reported on Friday. The country also registered the second-highest monthly increase among member states with available data.

Annual performance

Cyprus ranked ahead of Latvia, where retail trade volume rose 7.1 per cent year-on-year, and Sweden, which recorded growth of 6.4 per cent.

Monthly changes

Compared with June, Cyprus’ seasonally adjusted retail trade volume increased by 2.0 per cent in July. Latvia recorded the largest monthly rise, at 2.5 per cent, followed by Cyprus and Luxembourg, where volumes increased by 1.8 per cent.

Germany recorded the largest monthly decline, with retail trade volume falling 3.4 per cent. Spain followed with a decline of 0.9 per cent, while Italy and Poland each recorded falls of 0.3 per cent.

EU and euro area trends

Retail trade volume in the euro area fell by 0.6 per cent month-on-month in July, following an increase of 0.2 per cent in June. Across the EU, retail trade volume declined by 0.4 per cent after growing by 0.2 per cent in June.

The euro area decline was mainly driven by a 1.4 per cent fall in sales volumes of non-food products excluding automotive fuel. Sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores declined by 0.8 per cent, while sales of food, drinks and tobacco increased by 0.4 per cent.