German retail sales decline in May

Retail sales in Germany declined for the second month in a row in May, confounding analysts' expectations for a slight rise, official data showed on Friday. Retail sales fell by 0.3 percent in May compared with April in price, seasonally and calendar-adjusted terms, according to provisional figures by the federal statistics office Destatis. Analysts surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had expected a slight increase of 0.2 percent following a decline of 0.2 percent in April. On a 12-month basis, retail sales were down by 1.1 percent in May, the statisticians calculated. Monthly retail sales data are volatile and subject to frequent revision.