Decline In German Retail Sales Exceeds Expectations

Germany’s retail sales declined more than expected in October as high inflation eroded the purchasing power of consumers, data published by Destatis revealed on Thursday.

Retail sales declined 2.8 percent from September, when turnover was up 1.2 percent. Sales were forecast to fall moderately by 0.6 percent.

Retail trade in grocery shops were down 1.2 percent and that in non-food stores decreased 4.5 percent.

On a yearly basis, retail sales decreased 5.0 percent in October, which was also bigger than economists’ forecast of -2.8 percent.

In nominal terms, retail sales dropped 1.7 percent on month but expanded 6.2 percent from the same period last year.