| Updated:
Eurozone retail sales fall, as ECB set to hold rates
EuroZONE retail sales fell unexpectedly in June, data showed yesterday, pointing to weak consumer demand and posing a question mark over how quickly the economy will emerge from recession.
Retail trade in the 16 countries using the euro fell 0.2 per cent on the month, European Union statistics office Eurostat said — worse than the 0.2 per cent increase expected by economists in a Reuters poll. Sales fell 2.4 per cent year-on-year.
The data comes as the European Central Bank (ECB) is today expected to keep interest rates on hold at a record low as it waits to see the impact of efforts so far to revive the economy and credit flows. Economists polled by Reuters expect the ECB to keep the main rate at one per cent for the third month in a row.