31.01.201802:21:00UTC+00Germany's Retail Sales Fall Unexpectedly In December

Germany's retail sales declined unexpectedly in December, data from Destatis revealed Wednesday.

Retail sales fell 1.9 percent year-on-year in December, in contrast to November's 4.3 percent increase.

This was the biggest fall since November 2014, when sales declined 2.1 percent. The decline confounded economists' expectations of 2.8 percent increase.

On a monthly basis, retail turnover decreased more-than-expected 1.9 percent, offsetting the 1.9 percent increase in November. Sales were forecast to drop moderately by 0.4 percent.

In the whole year of 2017, retail sales grew 2.3 percent in real terms and by 4.2 percent in nominal terms.