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Romania’s retail sales up 0.9% y/y in August, driven by stronger fuel sales
Romania’s August retail sales data published by the statistics office INS on October 6, showing a fragile 0.9% y/y increase, suggest some stabilisation in private consumption one year after the VAT rate hike in August 2025.
iulian ernst · Journalist
· 2 min read
Unexpectedly, given the much higher prices, the increase was driven by stronger fuel sales (+2.5% y/y), while the dynamics of food and non-food sales suggest continued pressure on household budgets: food sales contracted by 2.3% y/y, contrasting with a 2.7% increase in non-food sales.
“Consumption is starting to show a clearer improvement in the third quarter, supporting our view that consumer spending should strengthen somewhat in the second half of the year,” according to a research note published by Erste Group.
