Investing.com - Retail sales in the euro zone rose in line with market expectations in June, amid ongoing concerns over the region’s economic outlook, official data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, Eurostat said retail sales inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% in June, meeting forecast. Retail sales rose by 0.3% in May, whose figure was revised up from a previously reported flat reading.
Year-over-year, retail sales in the euro zone rose at an annualized rate of 2.4% in June from a year earlier, above expectations for a 1.2% gain and after rising 0.6% in May.
Following the release of the data, the euro held on to losses against the U.S. dollar, with EUR/USD shedding 0.21% to trade at 1.3394.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. The DJ Euro Stoxx 50 tacked on 0.5%, France's CAC 40 advanced 0.75%, Germany's DAX edged up 0.7%, while London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.5%.