FX.co ★ German Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly

Germany's retail sales experienced an unexpected decline in December, according to data released by Destatis on Friday. While economists had anticipated that sales would remain unchanged, there was a 1.6 percent increase on a monthly basis.

The contraction can be attributed to a 1.7 percent decrease in food sales and a 0.7 percent reduction in non-food retail sales. In nominal terms, retail sales saw a decrease of 0.9 percent compared to the previous month.

Year-on-year, retail sales saw a real term increase of 1.8 percent and a nominal increase of 3.0 percent in December.

Throughout the entirety of 2024, retail sales in real terms saw a 1.1 percent rise compared to 2023. When compared to the figures from the pre-coronavirus period in 2019, retail turnover in 2024 was 2.3 percent higher.