Eurozone retail sales rebound in December

The European Union statistics office Eurostit said today that retail sales in the euro zone rose 2.0% in December after falling 5.7% in November, and analysts had expected retail sales to rise 1.6% in December. On an annual basis, retail sales in the Eurozone rose 0.6% in the twelve months to December compared to the same period last year, and sales of clothing and shoes rose 12.4% in December after declining 30.5% in November. Retail sales of food, beverages, and tobacco rose 5.6% year-on-year in December, while sales of non-food products fell 0.8% year-on-year in December compared to the same period in 2019.