Eurozone Retail Sales Growth Softens In September

(RTTNews) - Eurozone retail sales growth softened in September largely reflecting a fall in food sales and a sharp slowdown in auto fuel turnover, data published by Eurostat showed on Thursday.

Retail sales logged an increase of 0.5 percent on a monthly basis in September, slower than the 1.1 percent rise in August. The growth rate slightly exceeded economists' forecast of 0.4 percent.

Food, drinks and tobacco sales fell 0.4 percent, in contrast to the 1.1 percent rise a month ago. Meanwhile, non-food product turnover grew 1.1 percent after a 1.2 percent increase.

Automotive fuel in specialised stores registered a 0.2 percent growth, weaker than the prior month's 1.3 percent increase. Year-on-year, retail sales growth improved to 2.9 percent from 2.4 percent in August. Sales are expected to grow 1.3 percent.

"Looking ahead, we doubt that retail sales will continue rising so strongly because real income growth is likely to slow and consumer confidence is fairly low," Capital Economics' economist Elias Hilmer said.

In the EU, retail sales grew 0.3 percent from August and by 2.8 percent from the previous year.