Retailers in the euro area achieved significantly lower sales in April. Compared to the previous month, revenues fell by 1.3 percent, as the statistics office Eurostat announced on Friday in Luxembourg. Analysts, on the other hand, had expected an average increase of 0.2 percent. The decline follows a 0.3 percent gain in March.
Sales of food, beverages and tobacco were particularly weak in April. They fell by 2.6 percent. On the other hand, fuel sales at filling stations rose by 1.9 percent. The mail order business was able to increase its sales by 3.4 percent. (dpa)