Germany retail sales shrink more than expected in October

Retail sales in Germany dropped at a monthly rate of 1.5% in October, after a revised up 1.6% surge in September, the latest data by the Federal Statistical Office showed.

In comparison, a consensus of analyst estimates had pointed to a much smaller decrease, by 0.3%.

In October, non-food sales went down 2.2% over the prior month, with sales via Internet and mail falling 2.4%.

In the meantime, sales of food went up 0.1% month-over-month.

In annual terms, retail sales in Germany went up 1% in October, while slowing from a revised up 4.2% growth in September.

The Euro was last little changed on the day against the British Pound, with the EUR/GBP currency pair trading at 0.8318 ahead of Euro Area’s preliminary CPI inflation data for November.