Retail sales in Germany in April rose after a four-month decline

Investing.com – Retail sales in Germany in April increased by 2.3% compared to the previous month, according to the data of the Federal Statistical Agency of the country (Destatis). Prior to this, the indicator was down on the results of four months in a row.

Compared with April last year, sales increased by 1.2%.

Analysts on average forecast an increase of 0.7% for the month and 1.3% for the year, according to Trading Economics.

In March, according to revised data, the monthly decline was 0.4%, not 0.6%, as previously reported. The annual growth estimate was revised to 1.7% from 1.3%.

Destatis also reported that import prices in Germany increased by 0.6% in April both in relation to the previous month and in annual terms.

The European Commission forecasts Germany’s GDP growth of 2.3% this year and 2.1% in 2019.