Eurozone retail sales fall 1.8% in March

Retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro fell 1.8% month-on-month for a 2.7% decline year-on-year decline, according to the European Union's statistics office. Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a fall of 1.7% on the month and 2.6% on the year.

Retail sales fall in the first quarter of the year, which is in line with European Commission expectations of a fourth quarter of 2022, followed by another drop in output in the first three months of 2023 - a technical recession.

Sales of non-food products fell the most month-on-month, falling 2.1%, while food, drinks and tobacco sales fell 3.9% year-on-year.