German retail sales in November fell sharply, data released today showed, confirming reports of a bleak start to the industry's strongest period of the year.
Retail sales fell 1.8 per cent month-on-month and contracted by 4.8 per cent on the year in real, or inflation-adjusted terms, preliminary data from the Federal Statistics Office showed.
That was the sharpest monthly drop since March 2003, when sales shrank 2.5 per cent, and compared with a 1.6 per cent month on month drop in November 2002. October figures were also revised lower.
According to the data, based on figures from six German states accounting for 75 per cent of total goods sold, sales in nominal terms were down 1.5 per cent from October and down 4.2 per cent from November 2002.
Sales of food, beverages and tobacco goods were down 3.7 per cent in November compared with a year earlier in real terms and down 2.1 per cent in nominal terms.
Sales of non-food items were down 5.6 per cent year-on-year in real terms, led by a 10.7 per cent decline in catalogue sales. Clothing and shoe sales were down 8.5 per cent while sales of home building materials were 3.9 per cent lower.
The only sector to show positive growth in November was cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical products, with sales rising 0.2 per cent year-on-year in real terms.
Retail sales in the first 11 months of 2003 fell by 1.2 per cent in real terms and declined by 1.1 per cent in nominal terms compared with the same period in 2002. Food sales rose 0.6 per cent in real terms, while turnover in non-food items declined 2.3 per cent.
Separately, the statistics office said wholesale sales in November fell 2.3 per cent year-on-year and dropped 0.7 per cent month-on-month in real or inflation-adjusted terms.
In the first 11 months of 2003, wholesale sales rose a real 0.1 per cent, led by a 0.9 per cent rise in trade in plant and machinery. Sales of consumer goods rose 0.4 per cent compared with the same 2002 period.