In Germany, retail sales decreased in January

The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Wednesday that, calculated with calendar and seasonal adjustments, retail sales decreased by 0.3 percent at constant prices and by 0.7 percent in nominal terms.

Analysts expected a 2 percent increase in volume for January, following the 5.3 percent fall in December. Compared to January of last year, retail sales in January decreased by 6.9 percent in real terms, but nominally increased by 2.8 percent. Experts expected a somewhat smaller, 6.1 percent drop in real terms for January after the 6.4 percent fall in December.