The Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) reported on Wednesday that Germany's retail sales climbed by 3.1 percent m-o-m in August, following a revised 0.2 percent m-o-m decline in July (originally a 0.9 percent m-o-m drop). This represented the first monthly gain in retail sales since February and was well above economists’ forecast for a 0.5 percent m-o-m advance.

Retail sales of food, beverages and tobacco rose 2.6 percent m-o-m, while sales in the non-food retail sector climbed 4.5 percent m-o-m.

In y-o-y terms, retail sales rose 3.7 percent in August, following a 4.2 percent gain in the previous month.