German retail sales pick up as Destatis reporting resumes

Retail sales in Germany rose over the past two months, according to delayed data from the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday.

Sales volumes increased by 1.6% during the month, following a 1.5% gain in July and a 1.1% decline in June, Destatis said. This marked the highest rate since March when sales grew 2.6%.

Destatis released figures for the past three months in one go on Thursday after suspending a number of key economic indicators in May due to a failed data update at the Wiesbaden-based authority.

Destatis was attempting to update systems to comply with a methodological adjustment in EU data requirements but had faced a number of glitches and delays.

According to Thursday's data, food sales were up 1.9% in August, while non-food gained 1.1%, while ecommerce and mail order sales surged 8.9%.