Official figures show that German retail sales posted a surprise drop of 1.4% in August compared with July. There was an annual drop of 2.2%.
Analysts had expected retail sales to edge 0.3% higher in the month. The figures backed up a survey published on Tuesday by the Ifo research institute that showed business sentiment among retailers falling sharply.
Meanwhile, separate figures showed that the French economy grew 0.3% in the second quarter, unchanged from an earlier provisional estimate. The growth rate, in line with expectations, slowed from a rise of 0.6% in the first quarter.
