German retailers reported a marginal decrease in business in March from February, data published by the federal statistics office, Destatis, showed this morning.
German retail sales inched lower by 0.5% in March from the figure for February in price-adjusted terms. By contrast, compared with March 2003, retail sales rose by 1.2% in March this year.
Separate figures showed that import prices in Germany notched up their sharpest monthly increase in more than three years in March, propelled by rising raw materials prices.
The German import price index rose by 1.2% in March from the figure for February, the sharpest monthly increase since September 2000. The annual rate fell by 1.6%, however, mainly because of the stronger euro.
