FRANKFURT (MktNews) - Business sentiment in the German retail sector fell slightly in February after rises in December and January, according to the regular survey by the consultancy firm BBE conducted for the Handelsblatt business daily. The BBE retail sentiment index fell slightly to 105.95 in February from 106.08 in January. Despite the rises in December and January, the index remains below the levels recorded for most of last year. The decline in the February pan-German index was due to a decrease in retail sentiment in west Germany, to 108.93 from 110.25 in January. This drop was partly offset by an improvement in sentiment in east Germany, where the index rose to 96.90 up from 93.18 in January. The BBE retail sentiment index is derived from a survey of 500 retailers in east and west Germany. Levels above 100 signal that most respondents have an overall positive assessment of the retail climate, while levels below 100 reflect an overall negative assessment. The drop in retail sentiment could be another worrying sign for the German economy, following the surprise rise in seasonally adjusted German unemployment during the month. The German government and the European Central Bank are counting on a strong increase in consumer spending in Germany this year, spurred by income tax cuts and growing employment, to compensate for expected slower export growth due to the global economic slowdown. Both the BBE and Ifo retail sentiment indexes rose in January based on hopes for higher consumer spending. But February retail sales results will be crucial for the private consumption outlook, since most German consumers will have just gotten at the end of January the first paycheck with their higher take-home wages. If February retail sales disappoint, it will raise concerns about the pace of German growth and reinforce calls early ECB rate cut.