- Mario Draghi, ECB Governor
Retail sales in the Euro zone rose more than expected for the second consecutive month in November, adding to signs that plummeting oil prices are underpinning purchases of other goods and helping to prop up economic growth in the region. According to Eurostat, retail sales climbed by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in November from the previous month, while on an annual basis sales rose 1.5%, suggesting consumer spending was on the rise in the final quarter of the year, likely reflecting the fall in oil prices, and leaving households with more money to spend on other goods and services. Consumer spending was the main driver for a very fragile growth in the Euro zone throughout 2014, having climbed by 0.5% in the third quarter, following rises of 0.3% in the second and 0.2% in the first three-month period.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed Euro zone economic sentiment remained unchanged in December versus the previous two months, as a more optimistic mood in the services and retail sectors and among consumers in the year-end was offset by a gloomier industry. The European Commission's survey results revealed the economic sentiment in the currency bloc was at 100.7, with sentiment among consumers rising to –10.9 in December, up from –11.5 in the preceding month, while the mood in the bloc's retail sector climbed to –5.3 up from –6.0 due to the Christmas shopping spree.
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