In Germany, retail sales decreased in March

The German Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) announced on Tuesday that, with calendar and seasonal adjustments, retail sales fell by 2.4 percent at constant prices in a monthly comparison, after a 0.3 percent decrease in February. The average of analysts’ expectations was a 0.4 percent increase in retail sales. Nominally, the decrease was 1.3 percent compared to February.

Compared to March last year, retail sales decreased by 8.6 percent in real terms and 0.2 percent in nominal terms in March this year. Experts expected a smaller, 6.1 percent drop in real terms for March after the 7.1 percent fall in February on an annual basis.