BRUSSELS, May 5 (Reuters) - Euro zone retail sales on a month-on-month basis fell short of market expectations in March, signalling continued weakness in consumer demand in the single currency area.
European Union statistics office Eurostat said retail sales in the 16 countries using the euro were flat month-on-month in March and 0.1 percent lower than in the same period of 2009.
Economists polled by Reuters had on average expected a 0.2 percent monthly increase and a 0.5 percent year-on-year fall. (Reporting by Jan Strupczewski, editing by Dale Hudson)