• Retail sales +1.1% vs 0.0% m/m expected
• Prior -0.3%; revised to -0.4%

German retail sales surprised to the upside in May but it comes with a bit of a caveat. Once again, petrol station sales were striking as a result of the Middle East conflict but also amid political countermeasures with there being a fuel discount offered up from 1 May to 30 June. That saw petrol station sales move up by 3.5% in real terms on the month.

As a reminder, said sales fell by 5.2% in April so that represents a total flip in May compared to the previous month. Do be reminded though that petrol station sales also include sales in the petrol station shops. However, it is likely that the jump here owes much to the fuel discount as mentioned above.

That being said, there were other positive developments too with retail sales in the food sector rising by 1.1% and non-food retail also seeing a 1.1% increase in sales. As such, it’s not all bad as it does point to some recovery in retail sales after a worrying April month before.

This article was written by Justin Low at investinglive.com.