Greece’s retail sales down as Germany’s rise
RETAIL sales plummeted again in Greece in February, official figures revealed yesterday, but increased in Germany, underlining the growing divergence between the core and peripheral Eurozone economies.
Greek sales fell 13 per cent in the year to February, the fifth consecutive fall and an even sharper drop than the 10.6 per cent seen the previous month, according to ELSTAT.
The country is now in its fifth year of recession, with GDP expected to shrink by at least four per cent through 2012.
Meanwhile German retail sales rose 2.3 per cent in the year to March, and 0.8 per cent in the month – a weak rise by its standards but far outshining the sharp falls in Greece.
“The year-on-year comparison rate is steadily rising,” said Berenberg Bank economist Christian Schulz.
However, “against the background of unemployment at its lowest since reunification, falling headline inflation rates and a pick-up in wage growth, German consumption remains relatively weak,” reflecting a widespread lack of confidence.