Forexpros – Retail sales in the euro zone fell more-than-expected in August, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales dipped by a seasonally adjusted 0.3% in August, after rising by 0.2% in July.
Analysts had expected euro zone retail sales to decline by 0.3%.
Year-over-year, retail sales in the euro zone fell at an annualized rate of 0.7% in August, after dropping at a rate of 0.3% in July, worse-than-expectations for a 0.7% drop.
Following the release of the data, the euro was down against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD slumping 0.23% to trade at 1.3319.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were up sharply. The EURO STOXX 50 rallied 2%, France’s CAC 40 rose 2.4%, the FTSE 100 gained 1.7%, while Germany’s DAX jumped 1.85%.
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