BRUSSELS, March 6 (Reuters) - Euro zone retail sales
rebounded much less than expected month-on-month in January and
were still lower than 12 months earlier, underlining the
weakness of consumer demand in euro zone and the broader
economic slowdown, data showed on Monday.
The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said retail
sales in the 20 countries sharing the euro rose 0.3%
month-on-month in January for a 2.3% year-on-year decline.
This fell well short of expectations of economists polled by
Reuters, who forecast a 1.0% month-on-month rise and a 1.8%
year-on-year fall.
Economists see retail sales as a good proxy indicator for
consumer demand, which has suffered because of rampant
inflation, triggered mainly by rising energy and food prices,
but also seeping into other sectors of the economy.
(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski)
Messaging: jan.strupczewski.reuters.com@reuters.net))
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