Forexpros – Retail sales in Germany rose broadly in line with market expectations in March, rebounding from the previous month’s steep decline, official data showed on Monday.
In a report, Germany’s Statistics Office said retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% in March, just below expectations for a 1.0% gain.
The previous month’s figure was revised down to a 0.9% drop from a previously reported 1.1% decline.
The data showed that German retail sales rose at annualized rate of 2.3% last month from a year earlier, after rising 2.1% in February. Analysts had expected retail sales to rise at an annualized rate of 0.5% in March.
Following the release of that data, the euro held on to modest gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.05% to trade at 1.3260.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.35%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.35%, London’s FTSE 100 futures rose 0.3%, while Germany’s DAX futures climbed 0.6%.
Forexpros
