Retail sales in the euro zone were weaker than expected in September, the European Union's statistics institute said this morning.
Sales rose 1.4 per cent year-on-year and fell 0.6 per cent from August, Eurostat reported.
Eurostat today revised down August's retail sales growth to 2 per cent year-on-year - lower than a first reading of 2.4 per cent - and the monthly figure was cut to an increase of 0.5 per cent from a previous 0.7 per cent.
In the whole European Union of 25 member states, retail sales rose 2.4 per cent in September compared with the same month a year earlier and fell 0.2 per cent from August.
In the 12-country euro zone, the annual gain was driven by rises in spending in countries such as Finland, Spain and France, but Germany, the bloc's biggest economy, fell 0.7 per cent.
Private consumption has long been the weak point of the euro zone economy as slow wage growth, especially in Germany, combined with unemployment has restricted household spending.