Euro Zone Retail Sales Fall More Than Expected In April

Euro zone retail sales fell more than expected in April, dragged down by a decline in sales of non-food products, but were still much higher than 12 months earlier when most countries were under strict pandemic lockdowns, data showed on Friday. The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 3.1% month-on-month in April but were 23.9% higher than a year earlier. Economists polled by Reuters had expected only a 1.2% monthly fall and forecast a 25.5% year-on-year surge. Read more at Reuters.