- Carsten Brzeski, chief economist at ING-Diba AG
Euro zone retail sales declined for the first time in six months in September, as spending on food and beverages decreased sharply in the reported period. According to Eurostat, retail sales in the Euroland dropped 0.1% in September, whereas economists had predicted a 0.2% rise. In annual terms, sales at European retailers climbed 2.9% up from a revised 2.2% advance in August. Sentiment in the retail sector has improved steadily since June, with a pickup in the views of both present and future sales. Retail sales were flat in Germany, the Euro zone's star economy, and dropped by 0.4% in France.
Meanwhile, factory order in Germany unexpectedly extended a series of drops in September due to a decline in demand for investment goods in the Euro zone. Orders fell a seasonally adjusted 1.7% from August, when they plunged 1.8%, marking the third consecutive decline. Economists, however, had predicted a 1% gain. Measured on an annual basis, orders dropped 1%. The Bundesbank said last month that an upward trend in economic activity in Germany continued in the three months through September, albeit less dynamically.
© Dukascopy Bank SA