Eurozone retail sales grew only marginally in April as the rebound in food sales was partially offset by the weakness in non-food turnover.
Retail sales volume edged up 0.1 percent in April from March, when they rose by revised 0.2 percent, data published by Eurostat showed Tuesday.
This was the fourth consecutive rise in sales. The monthly growth rate came in line with expectations.
Sales of food, drinks and tobacco rebounded 0.6 percent following a 0.1 percent drop a month ago. On the other hand, non-food product sales slid 0.4 percent, reversing a 0.8 percent rise.
Year-on-year, retail sales volume growth held steady at 2.5 percent in April. Sales were forecast to rise 2.1 percent.
In the EU28, retail sales increased 0.5 percent in April from March and by 3 percent from the preceding year.
While monthly retail sales volumes growth was soft at the start of the second quarter, the rise in euro area consumer confidence in May to its highest since July 2007 suggests that growth should be strong over the rest of the second quarter, Stephen Brown, an economist at Capital Economics, said.
Overall consumer spending growth is still likely to be softer this year than in 2016, the economist added.
A survey published by think tank Sentix showed that Eurozone investor confidence strengthened to a near decade high in June. The agency said the upturn in the euro area remains strong.
The investor confidence index rose to 28.4 in June from 27.4 in May. This was the highest reading since July 2007. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 27.4.
The current conditions index came in at 36.0, the highest since January 2008, and up from 34.5 in May. At the same time, the expectations index improved to a 22-month high of 21.0 from 20.5 a month ago.
by RTT Staff Writer
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