The euro zone saw weaker retail sales than expected in October as consumers in Germany reined in their spending, according to official EU data.
The volume of retail trade in the euro zone fell 0.7% in October from September and rose 0.2% over 12 months, the Eurostat data agency said.
The result fell short of economists' expectations for retail sales to ease only 0.3% over one month and grow 1.2% over the year.
The figures marked a slowdown from September when retail sales grew 0.2% monthly and 1.5% annually, according to revised figures from Eurostat.
The weakness was driven by sharply slower retail activity in Germany where sales tumbled 3.3% over the month and 3.4% over one year.
Meanwhile, retail sales in the 27-nation EU as a whole fell 0.4% monthly over and increased 1.9% annually.
