MNI: GERMAN DATA: Retail Sales (Apr 2019) Preview....>

MNI: GERMAN DATA: Retail Sales (Apr 2019) Preview - 07:00 BST

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- Bloomberg Consensus: 0.1% m/m, 1.4% y/y; MNI Median: 0.5% m/m

- Previous (Mar): 0.0% m/m, -2.0% y/y (rev. from -0.2% m/m, -2.1% y/y)

- German retail sales grew by a healthy 1.6% q/q in Q1 - up from 0.6% in Q4 

- Markets look for sales to have grown marginally on the month in Apr...

- ... and for the annual rate to turn positive 

- Destatis reported that the Mar y/y data were impacted negatively by the timing

of Easter relative to last year

- Holiday-related spending in Apr should have a positive impact on both the m/m

& y/y figures

- HH consumption, which increased by 1.2% q/q, was a key driver of Q1 GDP growth

- While the unemployment rate edged higher in May (to 5.0% from 4.9% in Apr), it

remains close to its post-reunification low...

- ... combined with rising wages, subdued inflation & ultra-low interest rates,

this suggests consumer spending should continue to support economic growth in Q2