German retail sales slip in August: data   

German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, eased in August, amid signs consumer sentiment in Europe's top economy could be starting to wane, official data showed on Wednesday. 

PHOTO: REUTERS

SEP 30, 20153:21 PM

[FRANKFURT] German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, eased in August, amid signs consumer sentiment in Europe's top economy could be starting to wane, official data showed on Wednesday.

Retailers' sales slipped by by 0.4 per cent in August compared with July, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

The previous month, retail sales had risen by 1.6 per cent.

On a 12-month basis, business had increased strongly, jumping by 2.4 per cent in August compared with the same month last year, the statisticians calculated.

Retail sales data are often revised.

Last week, a leading consumer sentiment survey, conducted by the GfK market research institute, found that consumers are beginning to worry about the economic consequences of the huge influx of migrants in Europe's refugee crisis.

AFP