Retail activity in the eurozone declined in February, reflecting weaker consumer confidence in the build up to the war in Iraq and a correction following a surge in January. The volume of retail sales in the eurozone slipped 0.8pc in February from January and was up by 0.7pc from a year earlier, EU statistics office Eurostat said. In the EU as a whole, sales were down 0.6pc on the month and up 1.3pc from a year ago. In January, retail sales had recorded a 2.3pc surge, boosted by heavy discounting during the winter sales as store owners slashed prices to increase business.
But in February, the impending war in Iraq took its toll on consumer sentiment, with the European Commission's consumer confidence indicator dropping to minus 19 from minus 17 in January, continuing what the commission described as a "rapid deterioration" in previous months. The decline in February sales was led by textile and clothes sales, which fell 2.8pc on the month. Sales of household goods slipped 0.6pc. ///www.fxcentre.com