Retail sales in Germany rose much more than expected in June following an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, leading to expectations of a consumer-driven recovery in Europe's largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales rose by 4.2 per cent in the month in real terms after an upwardly revised increase of 4.6 per cent in May.
Lifting of restrictions benefited department stores and specialist suppliers, with sales soaring 34 per cent in June, while a drop in online sales offered early evidence that consumer habits are rotating back to services and away from online shopping, a global newswire reported.Retail sales in Germany rose much more than expected in June following an easing of COVID-19 restrictions, leading to expectations of a consumer-driven recovery in Europe's largest economy. The Federal Statistics Office said retail sales rose by 4.2 per cent in the month in real terms after an upwardly revised increase of 4.6 per cent in May.#
On the year, retail sales jumped by 6.2 per cent in real terms following an upwardly revised drop of 1.8 per cent in the previous month.
The German economy returned to growth in the second quarter but bounced back less strongly than expected from the impact of supply chain bottlenecks.
Together with rising coronavirus infections driven by the more contagious Delta variant, the supply issues have dampened the outlook for the economy.
The country’s central bank expects growth of 3.7 per cent for this year and 5.2 per cent next year.
The country’s manufacturing sector got a boost in July as witnessed in faster growth in new orders and employment, a recent survey showed, but supply shortages for semiconductors and other intermediate goods continued to hold back production.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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