Drop of 1.8% in German retail sales
Economists had expected sales to drop 0.2% in the month, the median of 11 forecasts in a survey showed. Sales were unchanged in October from the month before. Sales declined 4.8% from a year ago, the Federal Statistics Office said in a fax issued in Wiesbaden.
Consumer confidence was unchanged last month, and retail associations representing companies including KarstadtQuelle AG say tax cuts by Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder may not be enough to fuel spending. Private consumption shrank in the third quarter when exports pulled the economy out of recession.
