Germany’s Retail Sales Unexpectedly Declined in June

German retail sales unexpectedly declined in June, suggesting that doubts about Europe’s economic recovery weighed on consumer spending.

Sales adjusted for inflation and seasonal swings dropped 1.5 percent from May, when they rose 0.7 percent, the Federal Statistics Office in Wiesbaden said today. Economists predicted an increase of 0.2 percent, according to the median of 25 estimates in a Bloomberg News survey. Sales fell 2.8 percent from a year earlier.