Europe Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall as Energy Costs Soar

European retail sales unexpectedly declined in February as surging energy costs prompted consumers to cut back spending.

Sales in the 17-nation euro region slipped 0.1 percent from January, when they advanced 0.2 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg, Eurostat, said today. Economists forecast a 0.1 percent gain, the median of 18 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey showed. Sales rose 0.1 percent on the year.