LUXEMBOURG (dpa-AFX) – In the Eurozone Retail sales fell more than expected in April. Revenues fell by 0.4 percent compared to the previous month, as the European statistics office Eurostat announced on Thursday in Luxembourg. On average, economists had only expected a decline of 0.3 percent. The decisive factor was a significant decline in sales at gas stations as a result of a sharp increase in the price of gasoline and diesel following the surge in oil prices at the start of the Iran War.
However, sales were revised significantly upwards in the previous month. Accordingly, retail sales rose by 0.8 percent month-on-month in March. Eurostat had previously reported a decline of 0.1 percent.
Compared to the same month last year, retail sales rose by 1.0 percent in April. In this view, an increase of 0.3 percent was expected./jkr/jha/
