The Bundesbank today revised down German October retail sales to a monthly rise of 1 per cent in real terms from an originally reported rise of 1.6 per cent.
October retail sales were also revised down to a fall of 4.4 per cent from October 2003.
Germany's retailers expect sales to fall 0.5 per cent during 2004, in a third successive year of decline, but they hope to boost this year's Christmas turnover by €1 billion.
The country's retail associations reported buoyant trade on Saturday, the last weekend before Christmas, and remained upbeat on prospects for pre-Christmas sales.