Euro zone retail sales rose more than expected in annual terms in March as strong increases in France, Spain and Finland offset a slump in turnover in Germany.
European Union statistics office Eurostat said today that retail sales in the 13 countries using the euro rose 0.5 per cent month-on-month for a 2.6 per cent year-on-year gain, beating market expectations of a 2.4 per cent annual increase.
Retail sales, which point to the strength of consumer demand, rose 5.0 per cent in annual terms in the euro zone's second-biggest economy, France, and 5.5 per cent in Spain. They surged 9.2 per cent in Finland.
But German sales fell for the third month in a row, down 0.7 per cent year-on-year.
Consumer demand, long the weakest point of the euro zone economic recovery, has been on the rise as unemployment falls amid robust economic growth.
Markets expect the European Central Bank, which wants to keep annual inflation just below 2 per cent, to raise interest rates by 25 basis points to 4.0 per cent in June and then perhaps once more later in the year.