Latvia Retail Sales Growth at Over 3-Year High

Retail sales in Latvia climbed by 6.1% year-on-year in January 2026, from an upwardly revised 1.1% gain in the previous month. It marked the strongest growth since November 2022, with faster increases in sales for automotive fuel in specialized stores (11.4% vs 0.6% in December), information and communication equipment (12.7% vs 7.3%), other household equipment (8.8% vs 0.9%), and other goods (11.1% vs 2.9%). Moreover, trade rebounded sharply for cultural and recreation goods in specialized stores (30.4% vs -9%) and declined at a softer pace for food, beverages, and tobacco (-11.9% vs -14.1%). On the other hand, sales slipped for non-specialized stores (-0.8% vs 1.3%) and sales via stalls and markets (-4.4% vs 1.9%). On a seasonally adjusted monthly basis, retail activity rose 2.7%, recovering from a downwardly revised 0.7% drop in the previous month.