Euro-Region Retail Sales Declined in August, Led by Germany

European retail sales declined in August as a worsening debt crisis and slowing economic growth prompted households from Germany to Ireland to cut spending.

Sales in the 17-nation euro region decreased 0.3 percent from July, when they rose 0.2 percent, the European Union’s statistics office in Luxembourg said today. That matched the median forecast of 22 economists in a Bloomberg News survey. Sales dropped 1 percent from a year earlier after declining an annual 0.4 percent in July.