![German retail sales unexpectedly fall in September](https://i-invdn-com.investing.com/trkd-images/LYNXMPEJ9U06S_L.jpg)
©Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Christmas shoppers wear masks and fill Cologne’s main shopping street, Hohe Strasse (Main Street) during the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in Cologne, Germany, December 12, 2020. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay/File Photo
By Maria Martínez
BERLIN (Reuters) – German retail sales fell in September as persistently high inflation took a toll on consumption in the euro zone’s largest economy.
German retail sales unexpectedly fell 0.8% in September compared to the previous month, it emerged on Tuesday.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast a rise of 0.5%.
On an annual basis, retail sales fell 4.3%, the data showed.
Household consumption had a negative impact on gross domestic product in the third quarter, the German statistics office said on Monday, as inflation continued to erode consumers’ purchasing power.
“Consumption is unlikely to recover as optimists had hoped,” said Commerzbank (ETR:) chief economist Joerg Kraemer.