A decrease occured in the sales of the Euro Zone and the EU in June

Retail sales in the eurozone fell more sharply than expected in June, a fresh sign that the currency area's economic recovery remains too weak to quickly bring down very high rates of unemployment, or raise inflation to the European Central Bank's target.

Separately, the final results of surveys of purchasing managers at businesses around the eurozone recorded a slowdown in activity during July, although it was less marked than first estimated.

The European Union's statistics agency said Wednesday retail sales in the 19 countries that use the euro fell 0.6 per cent in June from May, but were up 1.2 per cent from the same month last year. It was the largest month-to-month fall since September 2014. Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had estimated sales fell 0.2 per cent, having seen figures from Germany that recorded a large drop. (MTI)