Eurozone Retail Sales Figures Deliver More Gloom for the EUR

it was a relatively busy start to the EU Session.

Retail sales figures and January’s unemployment rate for the Eurozone were in focus this morning.

The Stats

Retail sales slid by 5.9% in January, reversing a downwardly revised 1.8% increase from December. Economists had forecast a more modest 1.1% fall.

Year-on-year, retail sales fell by 6.4% across the Eurozone in January, which was worse than a forecasted 1.2% decline. In December, retail sales had risen by an upwardly revised 0.9%.

According to Eurostat,

• Month-on-month, non-food product sales slid by 12.0%, with automotive fuel sales by 1.1%.
• There was a 1.1% increase in the sales of food, drinks, and tobacco, however.
• By member state, Austria (-16.6%), Ireland (-15.7%), and Slovakia (-11.1%) registered the largest falls.
• Estonia registered the largest increase, rising by a relatively modest 1.7%.

While retail sales figures disappointed, the Eurozone’s unemployment rate held steady at 8.1% in January. December’s unemployment rate was revised down from 8.3% to 8.1%. Economists had based their forecasts on the 8.3% rate.

According to Eurostat,

• While stable at 8.1%, this was up from January 2020’s 7.4%.

Ahead of today’s key stats, construction PMI figures from Germany had failed to impress. In February, the IHS Markit Construction PMI slid from 46.6 to 41.0.

Market Impact

Ahead of today’s stats, it was a bearish start for the EUR. Early in the day, the EUR fell back from a current day high $1.20663 to a pre-stat low $1.20271.

In response to the stats, however, the EUR moved from $1.20321 to a post-stat high $1.20361 before easing back.

While the retail sales were dire, the revised unemployment rate should provide some support.

At the time of writing, the EUR was down by 0.24% to $1.20324.

Next Up

Weekly jobless claims and factory order figures from the U.S.