Retail sales growth in Germany moderates at start of 2018
Staff Writer |
German retail sales rose on a seasonally adjusted basis in January, marking a fourteenth successive monthly increase, according to the latest PMI survey data from IHS Markit.
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However, the rate of growth was the weakest since last October, and there was also a deterioration in retailers’ gross margins during the month amid heightened cost pressures within the sector.
The seasonally adjusted headline Germany Retail PMI registered 53.0 in January, down from 55.1 in December.
Although easing, the rate of growth in sales remained solid and was in line with the average recorded over the current sequence of expansion.
Retailers also recorded a rise in sales on a yearon-year basis in January, with some noting that warmer-than-usual weather during the month had augmented an already-positive underling sales trend.
Retail sales in January were slightly below businesses’ expectations on average, which contrasted with the situation in December when targets were generally met.
However, despite the underperformance, the degree of confidence among retailers’ towards future sales prospects improved from a fivemonth low in the previous survey period and was strong overall.
Firms that were upbeat about the outlook commented on the upcoming release of new products and hopes that the current upturn would continue.
Reflecting sustained growth in sales, January saw a fourth consecutive monthly increase in the level of employment within the German retail sector.
That said, the latest increase was the weakest in the current sequence of job creation and only modest overall.
The value of goods ordered for resale by German retailers meanwhile increased in January, the tenth month in a row in which this has been the case.
But similar to the trends in sales and employment, the rate of growth in purchasing eased from that seen in the preceding survey period.
This was also the case for retailers’ stocks of unsold goods, which rose at the slowest rate for three months in January, albeit still solidly overall. ■