Home »Business and Economy » World » German retail sales fall sharply

German retail sales in November fell sharply, data released on Monday showed, confirming reports of a bleak start to the industry's strongest period of the year.

Retail sales fell 1.8 percent month-on-month and contracted by 4.8 percent 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 percent, and compared with a 1.6 percent 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 percent of total goods sold, sales in nominal terms were down 1.5 percent from October and down 4.2 percent from November 2002.

Sales of food, beverages and tobacco goods were down 3.7 percent in November compared with a year earlier in real terms and down 2.1 percent in nominal terms.

Sales of non-food items were down 5.6 percent year-on-year in real terms, led by a 10.7 percent decline in catalogue sales. Clothing and shoe sales were down 8.5 percent while sales of home building materials were 3.9 percent lower.

The only sector to show positive growth in November was cosmetic, pharmaceutical and medical products, with sales rising 0.2 percent year-on-year in real terms.

Retail sales in the first 11 months of 2003 fell by 1.2 percent in real terms and declined by 1.1 percent in nominal terms compared with the same period in 2002. Food sales rose 0.6 percent in real terms, while turnover in non-food items declined 2.3 percent.

Separately, the statistics office said wholesale sales in November fell 2.3 percent year-on-year and dropped 0.7 percent month-on-month in real or inflation-adjusted terms.

In the first 11 months of 2003, wholesale sales rose a real 0.1 percent, led by a 0.9 percent rise in trade in plant and machinery. Sales of consumer goods rose 0.4 percent compared with the same 2002 period.

Copyright Reuters, 2004


the author

Top
Close
Close