- Prior +0.4%
In real terms, German retail sales are not looking too good and that's a poor signal of consumption activity in the economy. With the manufacturing sector already in recession, this could mark a deeper downturn in the overall economic health if households are also pulling back further on spending. In terms of retail sales value though, there's still an increase in retail sales - especially food sales - in the first six months of the year. You can see that divergence below:
