Retail sales in Germany were reported to have contracted at a monthly rate of 1.2% in April, or much more compared to market expectations of a 0.2% drop.
That followed a revised up 2.6% surge in March.
Sales in the German food retail sector shrank considerably in April, by 3.7%, while non-food sales edged up 0.2% month-over-month.
In annual terms, retail sales in the country shrank 0.6% in April. It has been the sixth straight period of decline in sales, but yet, at the slowest pace since December 2023.
The Euro was 0.28% firmer on the day against the Japanese Yen, with the EUR/JPY currency pair last trading at 170.316.
The minor Forex pair was holding not far from a one-month high of 170.798, which it registered on May 28th.