| German retail sales unexpectedly fell again in December, by 1.4% m/m (FSO) |
| 31.01.12 09:48 | |
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German retail sales (real, sa, excluding cars/petrol) unexpectedly fell again in December, by 1.4% m/m (-0.9% y/y), according to the Federal Statistical Office (Destatis). The weak November figure was slightly revised down to -1.0% from a previously reported -0.9%. On average, retail sales in Q4 2011 were 0.7% below their level in Q3 2011 in real terms, indicating a weak performance of household consumption in last year's final quarter. In nominal terms, food and non-food sales both rose 0.3% (y/y), but food sales fared significantly worse in real terms (-1.7%, y/y) than non-food items (-0.5% y/y), reflecting higher food prices. Among non-food items, sales of home furnishings and fixtures and building materials stood out, growing by 3.6% in real terms (y/y), indicating continued strong activity in residential construction in Germany. Improving consumer sentiment, as reported by GfK, suggests that the notoriously volatile retail sales could pick up again soon. We expect household consumption to be a major GDP growth driver in 2012. source: BarCap |
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