(Reuters) -German retail sales unexpectedly fell in August, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday, led by a decline in online and mail-in orders. Retail sales decreased by 0.2% in real terms
German retail sales unexpectedly fall in August
(Reuters) -German retail sales unexpectedly fell in August, the federal statistics office said on Tuesday, led by a decline in online and mail-in orders.
Retail sales decreased by 0.2% in real terms compared with the previous month.
Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.6% increase on a monthly basis, after retail sales also fell by an upwardly revised 0.5% in July.
"The buying mood was very cool in the middle of summer," said Thomas Gitzel, chief economist at VP Bank.
Gitzel attributed the overall fall to a decrease in online and mail-in order sales, which were down by 2.0% in August.
Non-food retail also saw a decline of 1.0% on the month, according to the statistics office.
"Many private households are saving out of caution. Concerns about the economic situation are weighing on purchasing confidence," he added.
Compared with August 2024, however, German retail sales grew by 1.8%.
(Reporting by Anastasiia Kozlova and Tristan VeyetEditing by Miranda Murray)
