Latest Eurozone Retail PMI data pointed to a further decrease in sales in October, the fourth in the past five months. Although Germany saw ongoing sales growth, it was offset by further contractions in both France and Italy.

October's headline Markit Eurozone Retail PMI - which tracks month-on-month changes in like-for-like retail sales in the bloc's biggest three economies combined - registered 48.6, down from 49.6 in September and its lowest reading since June.

Sales also decreased on an annual basis at the start of the fourth quarter, with the rate of decline the second-fastest seen in over one-and-a-half years (second only to that observed in April).