Forexpros – Retail sales in Germany rose more-than-expected in April, building on the previous month’s strong advance, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, Germany’s Statistics Office said retail sales rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% in April, above expectations for a modest 0.1% gain.
The previous month’s figure was revised up to a 1.6% gain from a previously reported 0.8% increase.
The data showed that German retail sales fell at annualized rate of 3.8% last month from a year earlier, after rising 3.2% in March. Analysts had expected retail sales to rise at an annualized rate of 0.2% in April.
Following the release of that data, the euro held on to modest gains against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD easing up 0.18% to trade at 1.2389.
Meanwhile, the outlook for European stock markets was mildly upbeat. The EURO STOXX 50 futures pointed to a gain of 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 futures added 0.5%, London’s FTSE 100 futures rose 0.4%, while Germany’s DAX futures climbed 0.3%.
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