EU: Euro area Retail Sales decline by 5.9% in January vs. -1.1% expected

• Retail Sales in the euro area fell more than expected in January.
• EUR/USD stays in the negative territory near 1.2030.

The data published by Eurostat showed on Thursday that Retail Sales in the euro area contracted by 5.9% on a monthly basis in January. This reading followed December's increase of 1.8% and fell short of the market expectation for a decline of 1.1%. On a yearly basis, Retail Sales fell by 6.4%.

Other data from the euro area revealed that the Unemployment Rate stayed unchanged at 8.1% in January and came in better than analysts' estimate of 8.3%.

Market reaction

The EUR/USD pair remains on the back foot after these mixed data and was last seen losing 0.25% on the day at 1.2032.