Latest Eurostat figures for retail trade volume in February show Romania took a big fall. The 2.5 percent drop recorded in Romania's retail trade volume compared to January 2012 was one of the largest falls in the EU, according to Eurostat figures. After gaining in January, retail trade volume slipped for both the eurozone and the EU 27, recording 0.1 and 0.4 percent falls from January 2012 respectively.

It was also bad month for other EU countries in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region. Bulgaria, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Slovenia all posted drops in retail trade volume, with Slovenia's 5 percent fall the EU's largest. Figures were unavailable for the Czech Republic and Hungary, while Slovakia was the only regional EU state to show an albeit small rise in volume – up 0.2 percent.

The figures are disappointing for Romania, which has recorded rosier results for many economic indicators recently than either the EU, eurozone and, in some cases, other CEE countries. Retail trade volume was up in Romania in January this year, when a 3 percent jump was recorded, well ahead of EU and eurozone averages.

Liam Lever, liam@romania-insider.com