Investing.com - Retail sales in the euro zone rose fell more than expected in September, underlining concerns over the region’s economic outlook, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales declined by a seasonally adjusted 1.3% in September, worse than forecasts for a decline of 0.8%.
Retail sales rose by 0.9% in August, whose figure was revised down from a previously reported gain of 1.2%.
Year-over-year, retail sales in the euro zone rose at an annualized rate of 0.6% in September from a year earlier, below expectations for a 1.2% gain and after rising 1.9% in August.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.2481 from around 1.2484 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7856 from 0.7857 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 1.1%.