Nicosia: Cyprus recorded the largest annual increase in the volume of retail trade among the Member States for which data were available in July 2026, rising by 8.6% compared with July 2025, according to data published by Eurostat on Friday.

According to Cyprus News Agency, on a monthly basis, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade in Cyprus increased by 2.0% in July compared with June. This was the second-highest increase among member states with available data, behind Latvia, where an increase of 2.5% was recorded, followed by Luxembourg at 1.8%.

The monthly increase in Cyprus followed a 0.9% decrease in June. Retail trade volume had risen by 3.7% in May, fallen by 0.9% in April, increased by 0.6% in March and risen by 0.8% in February.

On an annual basis, growth in the volume of retail trade in Cyprus accelerated to 8.6% in July, from 5.0% in June. It stood at 8.4% in May, 2.7% in April, 6.1% in March and 5.0% in February.

After Cyprus, the largest annual increases in July were recorded in Latvia, at 7.1%, and Sweden, at 6.4%. By contrast, decreases were recorded in Romania, at 5.7%, Germany, at 2.5%, Italy, at 1.0%, and Spain, at 0.7%.

Across the EU as a whole, the seasonally adjusted volume of retail trade decreased by 0.4% in July compared with June, while in the euro area it fell by 0.6%. In June, retail trade volume had increased by 0.2% in both the EU and the euro area.

Compared with July 2025, the calendar-adjusted retail sales index increased by 1.0% in the EU and by 0.6% in the euro area.

Among member states, the largest monthly decreases in the total volume of retail trade were recorded in Germany, at 3.4%, Spain, at 0.9%, and Italy and Poland, both at 0.3%.