BRUSSELS: Eager German shoppers helped January's euro zone retail sales grow at their fastest rate since May 2013, which was far more than expected and the latest sign of improving consumer confidence in a bloc seeking to overcome economic stagnation.
Sales in January rose 1.1 percent compared to December, the EU's statistics office Eurostat said on Wednesday, a far better reading than the 0.1 percent increase foreseen by economists in a Reuter’s poll.
Spending on fuel by motorists was particularly strong, although retail sales are volatile and are often revised.
On an annual basis, retail trade jumped 3.7 percent, the steepest increase since August 2005 and beating forecasts of a 1.9 percent rise.
Germany's best performance in seven years was behind the impressive rise, suggesting that cheaper oil prices, low interest rates and stronger morale are helping retailers in Europe's biggest economy.
But Germany's record employment levels and increased wages are not reflected across the euro zone, where the global financial crisis and the bloc's ensuing debt crisis pushed countries into deflation and recession.
On a monthly basis, shoppers in France only generated a 0.1 percent rise in retail trade in January, while sales were flat in Belgium and down slightly in Ireland. Data was not available for Italy, Spain, Greece and the Netherlands.
In Portugal, retail sales rose 6.8 percent in the month.
Europeans have been worried by the lack of a strong recovery from recession, while budgets were squeezed by record unemployment, cuts in government spending and high energy costs.
Now, a fall in world oil prices, reduced austerity and a sense that the crisis may finally be behind the euro zone are having an impact, economists say.
According to the European Commission's latest survey, economic morale in the euro zone rose at the start of this year as shoppers were more optimistic in Germany, Spain and Italy.
In addition, the euro zone's private sector expanded at the fastest pace in seven months in February, Market’s Composite Purchasing Managers' Index showed earlier on Wednesday.
Deflation and the euro zone's struggle to return to growth have prompted the European Central Bank to announce a money-printing plan to revive inflation.
The Commission expects the euro zone economy finally to pick up this year and reach modest growth in 2016.
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