A further decline in German retail sales

German retail sales fell sharply in May, instead of the expected modest growth, while the revised April figure showed stagnation, contrary to the previously published 0.6 percent expansion.

In May, the monthly retail sales decreased by 2.8 percent. As a result, the annual growth rate declined to 2.2 percent, from the April measured 3.7 percent. The previous expectation on a monthly level was 0.8 percent. Annually, the food, beverage and tobacco sales in April-May increased by 0.7 percent, while non-food sales rose by 3.8 percent – reports ProfitLine.hu.