EU: Retail Sales increase by 1.5% in October vs. 0.8% expected

• Retail Sales in the euro area rose more than expected in October.
•  EUR/USD trades flat a little above 1.2100 after the data.

Retail Sales both in the euro area and the European Union increased by 1.5% on a monthly basis in October, the data published by the Eurostat showed on Thursday. This reading followed September's contraction of 1.7% (revised from 2%) and beat the market expectation of +0.8%.

"In the euro area in October 2020, compared with September 2020, the volume of retail trade increased by 2.0% for both non-food products and for food, drinks and tobacco, while automotive fuels fell by 3.7%," the publication further revealed. "In the EU, the volume of retail trade increased by 2.0% for non-food products and by 1.9% for food, drinks and tobacco while automotive fuels fell by 3.4%."

Market reaction

The EUR/USD pair showed no immediate reaction to this report and was last seen trading flat on the day at 1.2112.