German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall a Second Month

Retail sales in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, unexpectedly fell for a second month in July after helping fuel record growth in the second quarter.

Sales, adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings, declined 0.3 percent from June, when they also dropped 0.3 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said in an e-mailed statement today. Economists forecast a gain of 0.5 percent, the median of 16 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. In the year, sales increased 0.8 percent.