Eurozone retailers recorded a rise in like-for-like sales during April, thereby reversing the downward trend seen in the previous two months. The upturn was underpinned by a strong expansion in Germany − the sharpest since July 2015 − and supported by a modest rise in France. In contrast, retail sales in Italy continued to fall, albeit to the weakest extent in five months.

The headline Markit Eurozone Retail PMI - which tracks the month-on-month changes in like-for-like retail sales in the bloc‟s biggest three economies combined - rose to 52.7 in April, from 49.5 in March, and signalled the steepest increase since July 2015