Retail sales in the euro zone fell in August as nervous consumers held down their spending, a survey of retail purchasing managers published by Bloomberg showed today.
The Bloomberg/NTC August retail Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.7 from 51.2 in July, below the 50 level that marks the cut-off between growth and contraction.
"Retailers attributed falling retail sales to strong competition, fragile consumer confidence and a reluctance to spend," Bloomberg said in a statement.
"Retailers also showed continued pessimism about their likely sales performance in September," it added.
More than 1,000 retail executives in Germany, France and Italy were questioned for the survey. These countries represent about 75 per cent of total euro zone retail sales.
Sales in August fell short of retailers' targets, with the food and drink sector suffering the largest shortfall. Clothing and footwear was the only sector to beat targets, Bloomberg said.
Germany showed the strongest performance of the euro zone's big three economies. Its PMI reading dipped to 50.8 from 51.0, but held above the key 50 mark.
The retail PMIs for France and Italy - the euro zone's second and third biggest economies behind Germany - both fell below 50 from being above that level in July.
The fall in the PMI index followed official figures last week showing euro zone retail sales grew much more than expected in July, buoyed by a surprisingly strong performance in Germany.
European Union statistics office Eurostat said on Friday that July retail sales expanded by 0.4 per cent from June in the 12-nation currency area for an annual rise of 1.1 per cent .