Retail sales in the eurozone have stagnated recently. In April they were at the level of the previous month, as the European statistical office Eurostat announced on Tuesday in Luxembourg. Economists, on the other hand, had expected an increase of 0.2 percent.
However, the decline in March, at a revised 0.4 percent, was noticeably lower than initially determined. In a first estimate, a decline of 1.2 percent had been determined.
Year-on-year, total retail sales fell 2.6 percent in April. A decline of 3.0 percent had been expected here. (dpa)