Our website publishes news, press releases, opinion and advertorials on various financial organizations, products and services which are commissioned from various Companies, Organizations, PR agencies, Bloggers etc. These commissioned articles are commercial in nature. This is not to be considered as financial advice and should be considered only for information purposes. It does not reflect the views or opinion of our website and is not to be considered an endorsement or a recommendation. We cannot guarantee the accuracy or applicability of any information provided with respect to your individual or personal circumstances. Please seek Professional advice from a qualified professional before making any financial decisions. We link to various third-party websites, affiliate sales networks, and to our advertising partners websites. When you view or click on certain links available on our articles, our partners may compensate us for displaying the content to you or make a purchase or fill a form. This will not incur any additional charges to you. To make things simpler for you to identity or distinguish advertised or sponsored articles or links, you may consider all articles or links hosted on our site as a commercial article placement. We will not be responsible for any loss you may suffer as a result of any omission or inaccuracy on the website.

German retail sales fall more than expected in April

by Uma Rajagopal
0 comments
2024 05 31T072804Z 2 LYNXMPEK4U075 RTROPTP 4 HEALTH CORONAVIRUS GERMANY scaled

German retail sales fall more than expected in April

(Reuters) -German retail sales fell more than expected in April, decreasing by 1.2% compared with the previous month, dimming hopes that consumer spending could give a much-needed boost to Europe’s largest economy.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.1% decrease.

Year on year, retails sales declined by 0.6% in real terms, the federal statistics office reported on Friday.

The data, published in more detail on the office’s website, offers a mixed picture for consumption in Germany as economists hope that rising wages and an improved outlook will boost spending.

Germany’s inflation rate, harmonised to compare with other euro zone economies, has increased over the past two months after easing from the double-digits highs of late 2022, coming in at 2.8% in May.

On Friday, the Ifo institute said its price expectations index had risen slightly to 16.2 points in May from 15.2 points the month before.

However, price expectations declined by contrast in consumer-related industries.

“This means inflation is likely to fall again in the coming months. In August, it should drop below 2% for the first time since March 2021,” said Timo Wollmershaeuser, head of forecasts at Ifo.

The statistics office also reported on Friday a 1.7% year-on-year fall in import prices in April, largely in line with analysts’ expectations.

(Reporting by Paolo Laudani and Halilcan Soran, writing by Rachel More, editing by Thomas Seythal)