IBT:Eurozone Retail Sales See First Rise in Two Years
Retail sales across the eurozone rose for the first time in over two years during August, as the single currency bloc emerges from its long and painful recession.
Markit's purchasing managers index (PMI) for the eurozone's retail sector lifted to a 28-month high of 50.3 in August after reports of rising activity across many, but not all, of the 17 member states.
Any reading above 50 signifies an expansion in activity, while a figure below represents contraction.
"The retail PMI has now risen for five months on the trot, the longest sequence of improvement since the first half of 2010," said Trevor Balchin, senior economist at Markit and author of the monthly report, which is compiled from surveys of retail sector purchasing managers.
"But the latest survey continued to highlight the gulf in performance between the German and Italian retail sectors."
