Bloomberg’s Eurozone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index fell from 47.5 in June to 47.3 in July. By dropping further below the no-change level of 50.0, the seasonally adjusted index pointed to a sharper rate of decline in like-for-like sales, which have now fallen for fourteen successive months. The rate of contraction in July was also faster than the average during the second quarter, but has eased since the first quarter and since the survey-record pace seen last November.
Germany experienced an easing in the rate of decline that registered as only a marginal drop in month-on-month sales. The index rose from 46 in June to 49.8, signalling the slowest rate of contraction since sales began falling in June 2008. It was also the weakest decline among the three countries in July despite the fact that Germany had posted the fastest contraction one month previously.
France registered the steepest monthly fall since March and a pace of contraction greater than the average seen over the first half of the year. The decline was the fourth-largest recorded over the survey's five-and-half year history. The index fell from 49.4 to 46.
Italy saw sales fall at the fastest pace since March, and registered the steepest month-on-month sales deterioration of the three largest euro economies. Its index slipped from 47 to 45.6.
In July, retail sales were lower than levels recorded one year earlier for all main product sectors. Footwear and clothing suffered the sharpest declines.
