German retail sales fall adds to economic gloom

Berlin: German retail sales fell sharply in June, official data showed on Friday, highlighting the nervousness of consumers in Europe's largest economy and compounding gloom about the growth outlook.

Total retail sales fell 2.8 per cent on the month in June in real and seasonally adjusted terms, preliminary Bundesbank data showed. Compared with a year earlier, sales were down 3.7 per cent, the central bank said on its website.

Earlier, the Federal Statistics Office said that a narrower measure of retail sales - excluding vehicles and turnover at gas stations - fell by a greater-than-expected 1.4 per cent on the month, adjusted for seasonal swings.

The drop was bigger than even the most pessimistic of projections in a Reuters poll of 19 economists, which gave a mid-range forecast for a fall of 0.5 per cent. "Uncertainty among consumers is extremely elevated," said Stefan Schilbe at HSBC Trinkaus.