Real, seasonally adjusted retail sales:
August: 0.3% m/m, -0.8% y/y
July: -1.0% m/m, -1.6% y/y (unrevised)
FRANKFURT (MNI) – Monthly retail sales in Germany rebounded in
August but were down a second straight month year-over-year, the Federal
Statistical Office reported on Friday.
August sales rose 0.3% month-over-month after a 1.0% decline in
July. Retail sales fell 0.8% year-over-year in August, less than the
1.6% decline seen in July. Sales from January to August of this year are
up 0.2%.
In unadjusted, nominal terms, sales were up 1.0% on the month and
1.7% on the year.
Food, drink and tobacco sales, for which only annual figures are
available, rose 0.8% in real terms. Non-food sales fell 1.7%, including
a 2.0% drop in clothing and shoe sales and a 1.9% drop in
pharmaceuticals.
The preliminary PMI survey for September, by Markit Economics,
showed retail sales contracting this month, knocking the indicator to
its lowest level since April and suggesting turnover was flat in 3Q.
The retail PMI reading in September “was the second-lowest for just
over two years, suggesting subdued household spending patterns in
Germany,” Markit senior economist Tim Moore said.
The GfK Group reported that the willingness of Germans to spend
remained at a high level in September thanks to one-off payment schemes
and a labour market that remains the envy of the Eurozone – despite the
fact that unemployment has been climbing.
It is increasingly unlikely, however, that consumers’ spending mood
will remain buoyant given recent labour developments. The
seasonally-adjusted jobless level has risen consistently since March,
while the number of job vacancies has continued to drop.
Retailers polled in an Ifo institute survey continued to revise
down their six-month business outlook, knocking the institute’s
sub-indicator to its 30-month low.
— Frankfurt bureau: +49-69-720-142; email: frankfurt@mni-news.com
[TOPICS: MTABLE,M$G$$$,M$X$$$,MAGDS$,M$XDS$,MT$$$$,MTABLE]
