Eurozone retail sales drop 0.7% in September, missing forecasts as German spending slides

Eurozone retail sales volume dropped 0.7% month-over-month in September, missing expectations of a 0.1% decline and signaling weakening consumer demand. Annual sales growth slowed to 0.4% year-over-year, trailing forecasts of 0.6%. The monthly downturn followed an August increase, reported as either 0.1% or revised to 0.4%, and an annual rate previously pegged up to 1.3%. Non-food product sales excluding fuel led the contraction, falling 1.2%, while food, drink, and tobacco sales fell 0.3%. Germany recorded the steepest monthly contraction at 2.0%, with France and Spain sliding 0.6% and 0.4% respectively.