Investing.com - Retail sales in the euro zone rose more than expected in January, easing concerns over the region’s economic outlook, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4%, above forecasts for a rise of 0.1%. Retail sales rose by 0.6% in December, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 0.3%.
Year-over-year, retail sales in the euro zone rose at an annualized rate of 2.0% in January from a year earlier, beating expectations for a gain of 1.3% and after rising 2.1% in the preceding month.
EUR/USD was trading at 1.0875 from around 1.0867 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7723 from 0.7718 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly lower. The EURO STOXX 50 shed 0.25%, France's CAC 40 dipped 0.3%, Germany's DAX was flat, while London’s FTSE 100 advanced 0.1%.