BRUSSELS, May 6 (Reuters) - Euro zone retail sales dropped by a record 4.2 percent year-on-year in March, data showed on Wednesday, underlining the weakness of consumer demand a day before the European Central Bank meets on interest rates.
Retail sales in the 16 countries using the euro also fell 0.6 percent from a month earlier, confounding analyst expectations of a small rise, the European Union's statistics office said.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a rise of 0.1 percent month-on-month and a fall of 2.6 percent year-on-year.