German retail also suffered a surprisingly strong setback in March due to weak sales at gas stations. In a month-on-month comparison, sales fell by 2.0 percent after adjusting for prices (in real terms), as the Federal Statistical Office announced on Thursday in Wiesbaden. The magnitude of the decline came as a surprise to analysts. On average, they had only expected a slight decline of 0.2 percent.
Sales had already fallen in February, but not as much as previously reported. The Federal Office revised the decline to just 0.3 percent from the previous 0.6 percent.
What was striking in March was the development of gas station sales as a result of the war in the Middle East: after calendar and seasonal adjustment, sales fell by 5.6 percent in real terms compared to the previous month, and rose by 5.5 percent in nominal terms, the statement said. It should be noted that gas station sales also include sales in gas station shops.