Eurozone Retail Sales Fall as Expected in August
BRUSSELS—Eurozone retail sales fell in August, data showed on Thursday, pointing to a weakness in consumer demand and underlining expectations of an approaching recession.
The European Union’s statistics office Eurostat said retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 0.3 percent month-on-month for a 2.0 percent year-on-year drop.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.4 percent monthly fall and a 1.7 percent year-on-year decline.
The fall in retail sales, seen as a proxy for consumer demand, underlines economists’ expectations that the eurozone is likely to go in to a recession in the coming quarters, hit by the energy price shock created by Ukraine’s war….