German retail sales unexpectedly fall in December

By Sarah Marsh

BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales fell unexpectedly in December, suggesting Europe's debt crisis unsettled consumers during key Christmas trade, although economists said they expected the preliminary data to be revised upwards.

The notoriously volatile indicator fell 1.4 percent in real terms on the month, and 0.9 percent on an annual basis, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed. The indicator missed forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists for gains of 0.9 and 1.4 percent respectively.

"These numbers suggest Christmas business was disappointing for retailers," said Commerzbank's Ulrike Rondorf. "But the statistics office data are often revised."

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