Sharp decline in Eurozone footwear sales
The Bloomberg Eurozone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) shows that Eurozone retail sales continued to fall in May. The seasonally adjusted PMI registered 47.1 in May, compared with 48.4 in April, showing a slightly faster rate of decline. Any PMI figure below 50 signals a contraction of monthly sales.
For the fourth month running, all three countries included in the survey (Germany, France and Italy) registered lower month-on-month retail sales:
Germany posted the steepest overall fall in monthly sales. The index fell to 46.3, remaining in negative territory for the twelfth successive month. This signalled a rate of decline that was faster than in April but slower than in the preceding five months.
Italy recorded a drop in monthly sales of similar severity to that seen in Germany. The current sequence of decline now stretches to 27 months. However, the rate of contraction stabilised in May at a weaker pace than those indicated during the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first quarter of 2009. The index registered 46.5, almost flat with April's 18-month high of 46.8.
France registered a fourth straight monthly decline in retail sales. The rate of contraction accelerated compared with April, but to a lesser extent than in Germany. The index was slightly lower at 48.3 compared with 49.2, indicating a modest rate of decline.
Footwear and clothing sales declined sharply in May following strong annual growth the previous month.
