Key facts
- Euro area retail sales fell 0.4% in April.
- Euro area Q1 GDP was revised down to a 0.2% contraction.
- Ireland's GDP decline influenced the Euro area Q1 GDP revision.
- UK consumer spending rose 0.8% annually in May.
- UK consumer spending declined 0.1% in April.
- Serbia's central government budget deficit was RSD 1.7 billion in April.
- Serbia's January-April budget deficit reached RSD 106.2 billion.
- Serbia's January-April deficit undershot the plan by RSD 86.5 billion.
- Serbia's January-April revenues increased by 10.3% year-on-year.
- Serbia's January-April expenditures increased by 12.1% year-on-year.
- Israel's industrial production fell 1.1% in Q1 on an annualized basis.
- Euro area services production increased by 0.2%.
Euro area retail sales experienced a decline of 0.4% in April, falling short of expectations and following a revised 0.8% increase in March. This downturn coincides with a downward revision of the first quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to a 0.2% contraction. The revision was significantly influenced by a substantial drop in Ireland's GDP, attributed to technical accounting corrections within its technology and pharmaceutical sectors.
In contrast to the Euro area's retail sales dip, British consumers increased their spending in May. Barclays reported an annual growth of 0.8% in UK consumer spending, a notable improvement from the 0.1% decline observed in April. This uptick was partly fueled by favorable weather conditions that boosted sales of clothing and food items, although spending on travel services continued its downward trend.
Serbia's central government budget faced a widening deficit. In April alone, the deficit stood at RSD 1.7 billion, a figure that contributed to a larger January-April deficit of RSD 106.2 billion. This cumulative deficit undershot the planned budget by RSD 86.5 billion. Over the January-April period, revenues saw a 10.3% increase year-on-year, while expenditures rose at a faster pace of 12.1%.
Israel's economy showed signs of strain in its industrial sector, with industrial production decreasing by 1.1% on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis during the first quarter. This decline is linked to the ongoing conflict with Iran and Hezbollah, which has affected low-tech manufacturing and extraction industries. Despite these challenges, sales figures within Israel's industrial sector remained in expansion, and business confidence indicators showed improvement in April and May.
Services production across the European economic bloc registered modest growth. In the euro area, services production increased by 0.2%, while the broader European Union saw a 0.4% rise. These figures provide a snapshot of the current economic activity within the services sector in these regions.