Investing.com - Retail sales in the euro zone rose fell line with market expectations in July, amid ongoing concerns over the region’s economic outlook, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in July, meeting forecasts. Retail sales rose by 0.3% in June, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported gain of 0.4%.
Year-over-year, retail sales in the euro zone rose at an annualized rate of 0.8% in July from a year earlier, below expectations for a 0.9% gain and after rising 1.9% in June.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.3142 from around 1.3139 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7972 from 0.7973 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained broadly higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 tacked on 1.2%, France's CAC 40 advanced 1.1%, Germany's DAX rallied 1.2%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.8%.