According to the statistics office, euro zone retail sales fell by a record 4.0% year-over-year in February, down from both the 2.5% decline expected and January's 1.7% contraction.

Meanwhile, January's figure was revised up from an initial estimate of -2.2%.

Food, drinks and tobacco retail trade fell 3.7% annually. Retail sales in the non-food sector also slipped by 3.7%.

On a monthly basis, retail sales levels fell back 0.6% after rising 0.1% in January, overshadowing the expected 0.4% drop.

Retail sales of food, drinks and tobacco remained unchanged from January to February, while non-food retail sales volumes contracted 1.1%.

According to preliminary estimates, euro zone inflation fell to a record low 0.6% in the 12 months to March, down from February's 1.2% print. Economists had expected a slightly more modest decline to 0.7%.

Written by CEP News European Staff, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it , edited by Stephen Huebl, This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

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