Eurozone retail sales rise in December

Retail sales in the Eurozone rose 0.3% in December from the previous month, according to data released by Eurostat.

The figure was in line with economists’ expectations and marked the first increase in fourth months.

On the year, sales rose 1.4%, in line with 2014 but just a touch below estimates for a 1.5% gain.

Dennis de Jong, managing director at UFX.com, said: “The Eurozone’s retail sector looks to have performed well over Christmas, with the latest figures for December matching those of the same month last year.

“This data follows up on promisingly low unemployment figures from earlier in the week. Although Italy may still be dragging on the rest of the region, Germany’s jobless rate has hit a 20-year low.

“There’s a number of positives coming out of the Eurozone at the moment, but ECB President Mario Draghi will be keeping his feet on the ground as the global economic outlook remains unstable.”