Retail in Germany grows 3.4% in September as it heads closer to recession

Retail grows below what is expected in Germany. In September, retail sales in the largest European power grew 3.4%, according to provisional data from the Federal Statistical Office. August figures marks an increase of 3.1%.

In inter-monthly terms, sales in Germany rebounded 0.1%, after the decrease of 0.1% in August. Germany’s annual export growth to slow down to 0.3% this year from 2.1% in 2018, adding that exports are likely to shrink by 0.5% next year. 

Last week, a Gfk report revealed that the country’s consumer confidence is at a its minimum in three years, given forecasts that the country would have entered a recession in the third quarter of the year. 

The Germany economy shrank 0.1% in the second quarter, and third-quarter output figures next month are expected to show another fall, putting the country in recession. Data from the Federal Labour Office showed the number of people out of work increased by 6,000 to 2.287 million in seasonally adjusted terms.