Romania’s retail sales volume down 7.6% y/y in Jan-Feb

The retail sales volume in Romania failed to substantially rebound in February 2026, after a visible slowdown in January, marking a second downward step-like correction after the VAT rate hike in August last year.

The retail sales volume contracted by 6.8% y/y in February and by 7.6% y/y in January-February,according to the data published by the statistics office INS. While the food sales decreased moderately by 0.5% y/y in February and 2.3% y/y in January-February, a much steeper annual decline was in the non-food goods sector: 10.1% y/y in February and 10.3% y/y in January-February. The car fuel sales dropped by around 10% y/y in each of the first two months of the year.