2019.10.0305:29:00UTC+00Eurozone Retail Sales Recover In August

Eurozone retail sales recovered in August largely driven by non-food product sales, data from Eurostat showed Thursday.

Retail sales grew 0.3 percent on a monthly basis in August, reversing a 0.5 percent drop in July. The rate of growth matched economists' expectations.

Food sales remained flat, while non-food product sales gained 0.4 percent. Automotive fuel in specialized stores edged up 0.1 percent.

Year-on-year, retail sales growth eased marginally to 2.1 percent from 2.2 percent in July. Nonetheless, this was slightly faster than the expected 2 percent.

Another report from Eurostat showed that producer prices declined in August mainly due to a notable fall in energy prices.

Producer prices decreased by more-than-expected 0.8 percent annually, following a 0.1 percent rise in July. Economists had forecast a 0.5 percent fall.

The annual decline reflected a 4.9 percent drop in energy prices and a 0.4 percent decrease in intermediate goods prices.

On a monthly basis, producer prices slid 0.5 percent, as expected, reversing a 0.1 percent rise in July. Economists had forecast a monthly fall of 0.3 percent.