German retail sales down in February

German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, declined in February, as consumer morale in Europe's top economy feels the heat from global economic risks, official data showed on Thursday.

Retailers' sales fell by 0.4 percent in February compared with January, the federal statistics office Destatis said in a statement.

The previous month, retail sales had eased by 0.1 percent.

On a 12-month basis, however, business increased, jumping by 5.7 percent in February compared with the same month last year, the statisticians calculated.

But that was because February 2016 had one more shopping day than February 2015, they noted.

Last week, a leading consumer sentiment survey, conducted by the GfK market research institute, found that consumer confidence is beginning to fade in view of terror warnings and economic uncertainties regarding the massive influx of refugees.