- Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight, a consultancy
Trade in the Eurozone shops fell by the largest margin in eight months in December, underscoring domestic weakness in the region's economy that is likely to weigh on the recovery, despite emergent signs the bloc has passed the deepest point in its downturn. The European statistics office Eurostat said that retail sales fell 3.4% compared with last year's December, after a 1.9% contraction in the previous month. On a monthly basis, retail sales posted the largest drop since April 2012, falling 0.8% compared to a previous month. For 2012 as a whole, retail sales fell 1.7%, the largest decline since a 2.4% fall in 2009.
"It still seems unrealistic to expect any marked pickup in consumer spending in the near term at least as [households] still face serious headwinds," said Howard Archer, an economist at IHS Global Insight, a consultancy.
"The Eurozone is showing clear signs of healing, with the downturn easing sharply in January and the region moving closer to stabilization in the first quarter," said Chris Williamson, Markit's chief economist.
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