Germany's retail sales grew unexpectedly in July, data released by Destatis showed on Thursday.
Retail sales grew 1.9 percent from June, when turnover was down 1.5 percent. Sales were forecast to fall again in July, by 0.4 percent.
On a yearly basis, retail sales registered an annual decline of 2.6 percent in July, but this was much slower than the 6.5 percent expected decrease. In nominal terms, retail sales grew 2.4 percent on month and by 6.1 percent from the same period last year. The difference between nominal and real results reflects high retail price increases, Destatis said.
