The volume of retail trade was also down by 1.9% month-on-month in the EU27 this July, Eurostat said in a statement.

"In July 2021 compared with July 2020, the calendar adjusted volume of retail trade increased by 3.1% in the euro area and by 3.8% in the EU," it noted.

Internet and mail-order sales posted their largest monthly decline by 7.3% and 6% in the eurozone and EU, respectively, the data showed.

Among member states for which data is available, retail trade fell the most in Ireland (minus 5.9%), Germany (minus 5.1%), and Austria (minus 3.9%), while the greatest increases were in Croatia (2.5%), Malta (2.3%) and Luxembourg (2.2%).

The eurozone/euro area, or EA19, represents member states that use the bloc's single currency -- the euro -- while the EU27 includes all of its member countries.

Major stock markets in Asia closed mixed on Friday ahead of the release of US jobs data, but they all ended the week with gains.

The Asia Dow, which includes blue-chip companies in the region, gained 33.8 points, or 0.86%, to close at around 3,978. It was up 2.94% for the week.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 stock exchange jumped by over 2%, or 584.6 points, to 29,128 after Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga announced that he would resign amid criticism over the COVID-19 pandemic handling. Nikkei 225 posted a weekly rise of 5.4% on Friday.

The Hang Seng, the benchmark for blue-chip stocks trading on the Hong Kong stock exchange, fell 188.9 points, or 0.72%, to 25,902 at Friday's close, posting 1.94% gains this week.

China's Shanghai stock exchange was also on a low note, falling 15.3 points, or 0.43%, to 3,582 points, while it increased weekly by 1.69%.

Source: Anadolu Agency