Eurozone retail sales fall in February
Eurozone retail sales fell in February, in line with consensus expectations, according to figures released on Tuesday by Eurostat.
Retail sales were down 0.8% on the month following a 0.8% increase in February.
Automotive fuel sales were 1.8% lower, while sales of non-food products fell 0.7% and food, drink and tobacco sales declined 0.6%.
On the year, sales fell 3% in February versus expectations of a 3.5% decline.
Oxford Economics said: "The print paves the way for another quarterly contraction in Q1, which would be the fifth consecutive quarter of declining retail sales, leaving the index around 2.5% on the year.
"The silver lining is that the January print was revised up, hence the quarterly fall will likely be milder than previous quarter's 1% drop. The weakness in the sector was broad-based at both national and sectoral levels, with the food, non-food and fuel sub-sectors all contributing negatively to the overall print.
"All in all, today's data supports our view that private consumption in the euro area fell again in Q1. Retail data underline that high inflation and low confidence continue to weigh on spending, although the robustness of the labour market and slowing inflation suggest that the near-term outlook is brightening. We now expect the eurozone economy to grow in the first quarter on the back of a stronger-than-expected rebound in industrial activity."