German retail sales slip further
German retail sales fell 2.4 per cent in March on the previous month but they were still 2.7 per cent higher than a year earlier. This was disappointing as retail sales will not support growth in the first quarte, according to Carsten Brzeski at ING. She said: “The March drop illustrates once again a sad pattern of German private consumption: the end-of-season sale hang-over. Almost every year, retail sales get a hit after the traditional German winter sales have ended.”