Retail sales in Portugal fell by 6% compared to August, but this was the first drop in the last six months.
Nevertheless, retail sales for 2013 so far are lower than purchases made in 2012.
For the eurozone as a whole, retail sales slipped down on average 0.6% in September compared to August.
Portugal’s drop of 6% was the largest out of all 17 eurozone members. It was followed by Spain’s fall of 2.5% for the month.
The information from Eurostat comes a day before the European Central Bank (ECB) is due to announce the level of interest rates.
Although the eurozone exited its 18-month recession in June of this year after gaining growth of 0.3%, the pace of growth has begun to slow down in more recent months.
Consumers continue to be cautious not only in Portugal and Spain, but more tellingly perhaps also in Germany.
