Cyprus recorded the highest monthly increase in retail turnover among EU member states in November 2024, according to preliminary data released on Thursday by Eurostat.

Retail turnover in Cyprus grew by 2.3 per cent compared to October, marking the largest monthly growth across the EU.

On an annual basis, the island saw a robust increase of 6.2 per cent in retail turnover compared to November 2023.

In contrast, retail turnover growth in the eurozone and the EU remained subdued.

Month-on-month, the eurozone registered a marginal 0.1 per cent increase, while the EU recorded a slightly higher growth of 0.2 per cent.

Annually, retail turnover rose by 1.2 per cent in the eurozone and 1.5 per cent in the EU.

Bulgaria, Denmark, and Latvia followed Cyprus with notable monthly retail turnover increases of 1.3 per cent and 1.1 per cent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the steepest monthly declines were observed in Belgium (2.4 per cent), Germany and Spain (0.6 per cent), and Poland and Finland (0.2 per cent).

What is more, Eurostat reported that annual comparisons reveal significant disparities across the bloc.

Luxembourg led the yearly growth with a remarkable 15.3 per cent increase, followed by Lithuania at 7.2 per cent and Bulgaria at 6.8 per cent.

Conversely, Belgium experienced the sharpest decline, with retail turnover falling by 5.4 per cent, followed by Finland (2.7 per cent) and Estonia (0.2 per cent).

Finally, in terms of fuel sales, a 0.8 per cent monthly increase was observed in both the eurozone and the EU, while annual growth in this category stood at 0.9 per cent for both regions.