German retail sales pick up as Destatis reporting resumes

(Sharecast News) - Retail sales in Germany rose over the past two months, according to delayed data from the Federal Statistical Office on Thursday. Sales volumes increased by 1.6% during the month, following a 1.5% gain in July and a 1.1% decline in June, Destatis said. This marked the highest rate since March when sales grew 2.6%.

Destatis released figures for the past three months in one go on Thursday after suspending a number of key economic indicators in May due to a failed data update at the Wiesbaden-based authority.

Destatis was attempting to update systems to comply with a methodological adjustment in EU data requirements but had faced a number of glitches and delays.

According to Thursday's data, food sales were up 1.9% in August, while non-food gained 1.1%, while ecommerce and mail order sales surged 8.9%.