Financial News: Eurozone Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly

Eurozone Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly

(RTTNews) - Eurozone retail sales declined unexpectedly in June after rising moderately in May, suggesting that consumption remains a marginal driver of economic expansion in the second quarter, official data revealed Thursday.

Retail sales decreased 0.3 percent in June from May, Eurostat reported. Sales had increased 0.4 percent in May but fell 0.4 percent in April.

The decline came in contrast to economists' expectations for an increase of 0.1 percent.

ING economist Peter Vanden Houte said data reinforced the view that consumption was not a major driver of growth in the second quarter. Some improvement can be expected, but a genuine consumption boom looks unlikely at this stage, he noted.

Sales of food, drinks and tobacco fell 0.5 percent and that of non-food products slid 0.4 percent. Meanwhile, sales of automotive fuel in specialised stores increased 1.5 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales posted an expansion of 0.7 percent, which was weaker than the prior month's 1.9 percent increase and economists' forecast of 1.0 percent growth.

Retail sales in the EU edged down 0.1 percent from May but increased 1.2 percent from the previous year.

Among member states of the EU, the largest monthly decreases in sales volume were reported in Finland, Romania and Germany. Meanwhile, Luxembourg, Portugal, Croatia and Sweden registered the highest increases.

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