High street sales decline by 0.3pc across Eurozone
HIGH STREETS in the Eurozone face a tight squeeze as the debt crisis and economic worries escalate.
Retail sales across the single currency area dipped by 0.3 per cent in August, compared to the previous month.
In July sales defied the euro area’s economic woes by growing 0.2 per cent.
Yet in the medium term, the retail sector appears to be taking a significant hit. The retail sales index — compiled by the EU’s Eurostat office — was down one per cent in August, compared to the same time the previous year.
In the non-food sector, sales tumbled by 0.6 per cent from July to August.
Worryingly for the Eurozone, its central powerhouse economy — Germany — recorded one of the sharpest falls in retail sales in August. Compared to July, German retail sales were down 2.9 per cent.