EU: Retail sales rose 1.3% in January vs 1.2% expected

The data published by the Eurostat on Tuesday showed that retails sales in January increased by 1.3% on a monthly basis following December's 1.4% decline and came in slightly above the market expectation of 1.2%. Additionally, the annual growth rate of retail sales rose to 2.2% from 0.3% and beat the analysts' estimate of 1.9%. 

"In the euro area in January 2019, compared with December 2018, the volume of retail trade increased by 1.7% for non-food products, by 1.6% for automotive fuel and by 0.6% for food, drinks and tobacco. In the EU28, the retail trade volume increased by 1.5% for non-food products, by 1.2% for automotive fuel, and by 0.8% for foods, drinks and tobacco," the Eurostat explained in its publication.