(BRUSSELS) - Retailers in the 15 countries sharing the euro saw their sales fall more than than expected in July, official EU data showed on Wednesday.

The volume of retail sales in the eurozone fell 0.4 percent from July and slumped 2.8 percent over 12 months, the European Union's Eurostat data agency said.

The figures were worse than economist forecasts for a fall of 0.2 percent on the month and a drop of 2.1 percent over one year, as polled by Dow Jones Newswires.

The deterioration followed a slump in June when sales tumbled 0.9 percent over one month and 3.2 percent over one year.

In the 27-nation EU, retail sales were up 0.1 percent in July from June but fell 1.1 percent over 12 months.

Text and Picture Copyright 2008 AFP. All other Copyright 2008 EUbusiness Ltd. All rights reserved. This material is intended solely for personal use. Any other reproduction, publication or redistribution of this material without the written agreement of the copyright owner is strictly forbidden and any breach of copyright will be considered actionable.