Please try another search
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) near Bonn
BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales tumbled more than expected in January as the COVID-19 lockdown and the withdrawal of a temporary cut in sales tax hit consumer spending in Europe's largest economy, data showed on Tuesday.
The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales fell 4.5% on the month in real terms after an upwardly revised decline of 9.1% in December. The January reading undershot a Reuters forecast for a decline of 0.3%.
"This decline can be explained by the ongoing coronavirus lockdown, which meant a closure of many retail stores since Dec. 16, 2020," the statistics office said.
The end of a temporary sales tax cut may also have contributed as many consumers made big ticket purchases before the end of 2020 to save money.
Fashion retail sales plunged 76.6% year-on-year, while sales of groceries were up 4.3% year-on-year as supermarkets and convenience stores remained open.
Online retailers continued to benefit from shifting consumer habits with sales up 31.7%.
Chancellor Angela Merkel and state premiers closed most shops and services in mid-December after a partial lockdown for bars, restaurants and entertainment venues failed to push down infections.
Merkel and state premiers are due to meet again on Wednesday to discuss a gradual easing of lockdown measures that are currently in place until at least March 7.
By Lucia Mutikani WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. homebuilding surged to nearly a 15-year high in March, but soaring lumber prices amid supply constraints could limit builders'...
By Jan Strupczewski BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Euro zone finance ministers are discussing on Friday how to improve and possibly unify insolvency laws across the 19-nation bloc, to...
BRUSSELS (Reuters) - The European Union's imports from Britain almost halved in the first two months of the year following the UK exit from the EU single market, data showed on...
Are you sure you want to block %USER_NAME%?
By doing so, you and %USER_NAME% will not be able to see any of each other's Investing.com's posts.
%USER_NAME% was successfully added to your Block List
Since you’ve just unblocked this person, you must wait 48 hours before renewing the block.
I feel that this comment is:
Thank You!
Your report has been sent to our moderators for review
Add a Comment
We encourage you to use comments to engage with users, share your perspective and ask questions of authors and each other. However, in order to maintain the high level of discourse we’ve all come to value and expect, please keep the following criteria in mind:
Perpetrators of spam or abuse will be deleted from the site and prohibited from future registration at Investing.com’s discretion.