Eurozone retail sales stronger than expected in January

Retail sales in the Eurozone grew more strongly than expected in January, according to the latest figures from Eurostat.

Sales were up 0.4% on the month compared with a 0.3% gain in December and expectations of 0.1% growth.

On the year, sales rose 2%, which was higher than 1.4% the previous month and consensus expectations of a 1.3% increase.

Pantheon Macroeconomics said it was “an upbeat report pointing to a good start to the year for Eurozone consumers”.

It said strong data in Germany and a 5.9% month-to-month jump in Portugal were the key drivers of the rise. However, it noted that Spanish and Italian data were missing from the release, increasing the risk of revisions next month.