Oct. Retail Sales Drop 0.6 Pct. In Euro Zone

With the negative impact from trade, the economy of the eurozone expanded at a modest rate in Q3, as retail sales dropped in October at the sharpest rate of the year. Retail sales in the bloc in October dropped 0.6 percent, which was two times the amount forecasted in a Reuters poll, per reports.

GDP in the nations that share the euro was 0.2 percent higher over the timeframe spanning from July to September, which was not changed from Q2 and was the same figure as the flash estimate in October. Per the outlet, the information “confirmed a somber outlook for the single currency bloc,” which is encountering uncertainty over worldwide trade conflicts and Brexit.

Eurozone expansion year on year was 1.2 percent, which the paper said was also the same figure as in Q2 of 2019. Italy and Germany grew by only 0.1 percent, while growth was 0.3 percent in France. Household spending was said to be the most formidable overall contributor, bolstering growth in the eurozone by 0.3 percentage points.

Non-food sales fell in the October retail sales figure, especially mail order and online sales. But per the report, they “tend to pick up in November and December ahead of the Christmas period.” The growth of employment in the eurozone, per Eurostat, slowed to 0.1 percent in Q3. 

In separate news, retailers in the U.K. experienced a strong Black Friday, despite forecasts that the holiday would leave shopping malls empty. Barclaycard reported an “outstanding” Black Friday in comparison to the year before, noting that its transaction value was up 16.5 percent in comparison to the prior year with a 7.2 percent increase in transaction volume.

Black Friday fell on the 29^th of the month, during the monthly payday for millions of workers. And even high street saw a rise in sales: Retail data firm Springboard noted that footfall was 3.3 percent higher on Black Friday compared to the same day last year.