German monthly retail sales drop for fourth month running

The volatile indicator, which is often subject to revision, showed retail sales decreased by 0.6 percent on the month in real terms, the Federal Statistics Office said.That confounded the Reuters consensus forecast for a 0.8 percent rise and followed an upwardly revised drop of 0.2 percent in February.

“The weather was likely still bad for shopping in March, but the weakness is nevertheless puzzling,” said Greg Fuzesi at JP Morgan.“Looking ahead, things should pick up significantly in April/May, when many of the recently negotiated pay increases kick in and when the recent surprise weakness could finally unwind,” he added.In April, German unions reached an inflation-busting pay hike deal for more than 2 million public sector workers and in February unions secured an unusually high pay hike for 3.9 million workers in the industrial sector, amounting to a roughly 4 percent annual rise for 2018 and 2019.Private consumption has been a key growth driver in recent years as consumers benefit from rising wages, record-high employment and strong job security but foreign trade propelled Germany’s fourth-quarter growth.The German Finance Ministry has said growth could slow slightly in the first quarter, but the upswing remains robust and broad-based. Fuzesi said growth could even stall in the first three months of 2018.On the year, retail sales climbed by 1.3 percent, beating a Reuters consensus forecast for a 1.0 percent increase.The retail sales data came after a GfK survey published last week showed the mood among German consumers fell heading into May amid fears that a possible confrontation between the West and Russia in Syria and protectionist U.S. trade policies could hurt the economy.

German monthly retail sales drop for fourth month running

Related Posts

Bangladesh garment workers stage protests, say pay rise insufficient

Garment owners agreed to raise workers’ pay on Sunday after a week of violent demonstrations in which one person was killed and dozens wounded as police used…

Bangladesh urged to stop worker abuse in garment industry

A senior official with the labor ministry denied there had been any backsliding on labor rights, but said there was room for improvement.Bangladesh, which ranks behind only…

Fashion wholesalers call on UK to extend business rates relief

Arguing that fashion showrooms, wholesale agents and distributors have been equally affected by the shutdown, the campaign aims to reach a target number of 10,000 signatures.The petition…

Homegrown fashion emerges in troubled Somalia

For Hassan, it began with art, when she found herself drawn to sketching clothes rather than the animals and landscapes preferred by her peers.Then she set to…

HSI claims UK government suppressing info on public opposition to fur

The move by the animal protection organisation comes after the publication of an email from former Environment Secretary George Eustice that reveals 96% of 30,000 respondents to…

J.C. Penney names Karl Walsh as senior VP, chief digital officer

In the role, Walsh will lead strategic advancements of the company’s digital platforms, particularly on jcp.com. He will report to Shawn Gensch, executive vice president, chief customer…