The European Union's statistics office said retail sales in the 17 countries using the euro rose 0.3 percent month-on-month for a unchanged year-on-year reading. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1 percent monthly fall and a 1.6 percent annual decline. Retail sales are an indication of household demand, which has long been the weakest part of the euro zone economy, because consumers worry about jobs amid high unemployment, inflation that cuts their purchasing power and an economy that is sinking into a recession. The European Commission expects the economy to start growing again only in the second half of the year.