Investing.com – Retail sales in the euro zone fell unexpectedly in March, official data showed on Wednesday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales dropped by a seasonally adjusted -1.0% in March, after rising by 0.3% in February, whose figure was revised up from a decline of -0.1%.
Analysts had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2% in March.
The report showed that year-on-year, retail sales fell significantly more-than-expected in March, declining at an annualized rate of -1.7%, after rising at a rate of 0.3% in February, falling short of expectations for 0.2% drop.
Following the release of the data, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.27% to hit 1.4866.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.4%, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.25%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.35%.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales dropped by a seasonally adjusted -1.0% in March, after rising by 0.3% in February, whose figure was revised up from a decline of -0.1%.
Analysts had expected retail sales to rise by 0.2% in March.
The report showed that year-on-year, retail sales fell significantly more-than-expected in March, declining at an annualized rate of -1.7%, after rising at a rate of 0.3% in February, falling short of expectations for 0.2% drop.
Following the release of the data, the euro was up against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD gaining 0.27% to hit 1.4866.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. The EURO STOXX 50 climbed 0.2%, France’s CAC 40 added 0.4%, the FTSE 100 slumped 0.25%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.35%.