German retail sales drop by 2.2 percent in August

FRANKFURT, Sept 28, 2007 (AFP) - German retail sales posted a surprise drop of 1.4 percent in August from the previous month, and shed 2.2 percent from August 2006, preliminary data released Friday, September 28th by the national statistics office showed.

Analysts had expected annualised sales to decrease by 1.4 percent, and the figures backed up a survey published Tuesday by the Ifo research institute that showed business sentiment among retailers falling sharply.

Almost all categories showed significant drops over the year, and the losses hit both small and large retail outlets.

Among non-food products, only sales of pharmaceuticals and cosmetics edged higher, while new clothes sat on the shelves owing to the country's rainy summer.