Good news for Eurozone retail as August comes in above expectations
Eurozone retail sales have beaten expectations, coming in at 0.7 per cent for August after expectations that July's 0.5 per cent increase would fall to 0.2 per cent.
Year-on-year, figures are still down 0.3 per cent, but this is up on expectations which expected a -1.5 per cent outcome for August, from July's -0.7 per cent.
Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, conjecturing that retail sales benefited from sale shopping in July/August, notes:
that overall Eurozone sales were lifted in August by a 3.8% month-on-month jump in Spain and a 4.8% increase in Portugal which may very well have been the consequence of holidaymakers spending more.
There were also month-on-month increases in Germany 0.5 per cent, France and the Netherlands (both at 0.2 per cent).
The recent firming in retail sales volumes, says Archer "suggests that improving consumer confidence and the help to purchasing power coming from low inflation across the Eurozone may be feeding through to lift consumer spending which would be good news for hopes that the Eurozone can gradually develop recovery over the coming months after finally exiting recession in the second quarter."