Retail sales in the euro area grew stronger than expected in January

The European Union’s Statistical Office (Eurostat) announced on Tuesday that according to the seasonally adjusted data, retail sales in the 19-member eurozone increased by 1.3 percent monthly and 2.2 percent year-on-year in the first month of the year.

Analysts expected an annual increase of 1.9 percent in December, after the rewieved increase decreased from 0.8 percent to 0.3 percent. On a monthly basis analysts expected a 1.2 percent increase after the 1.4 percent drop of last month. (MTI)