Euro zone retail sales turnover contracted at the fastest pace in nine months in February on rising unemployment fears, according to a survey of published today.
The Bloomberg/NTC retail sales index fell to 47.3, the lowest since May 2004 and further below the 50 level that marks the cut off between growth and contraction, from 49.9 in January, according to Bloomberg television.
High profile job cuts and a euro zone unemployment level almost double that of the United States had made consumers reluctant to spend, the survey said.
Eurostat last week reported January retail sales in the bloc advanced 0.3 per cent from December but fell by 0.6 per cent from a year earlier.
The February retail PMI for Germany, which accounts for about a third of the euro region's gross domestic product, fell to 48.4 from 51.6 the previous month, Bloomberg said.
In France, the PMI fell to 48.3 from 50.1; in Italy, retail sales declined for a seventh month, as the PMI slipped to 44.4 from 47 in January.
The euro zone poll questioned more than 1,000 retailers in Germany, France and Italy. The three countries account for around 75 per cent of Europe's retail trade.