Euro area retail sales collapse in March as lockdowns kick in
By Alexander Bueso
Date: Wednesday 06 May 2020
(Sharecast News) - Retail sales in the single currency bloc collapsed in March as lockdowns began to come into effect.
According to Eurostat, in seasonally adjusted terms retail sales volumes fell at a month-on-month pace of 11.2%.
Economists had forecast a dip of 0.1%.
In comparison to the same month one year ago they fell by a similar amount, dropping by 9.2%.
The rate of increase did double from the month before, reaching a 5.0% clip, bjut outside of food they shrank by 23.1%.
Sales fell by the most in France, where they retreated by 17.4% versus February, while in Spain they were down by a similar proportion, retreating by 14.4%, while in Germany they declined by 5.6%.
"Lockdowns came into effect mid-way through March in most EZ economies, and today's headline is the result," said Claus Vistesen at Pantheon Macroeconomics.
"Consumers' spending, ex-services, suffered a sharp decline as physical outlets closed and households suddenly had to countenance a sharp rise in job and income insecurity."
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