Clothes, furniture boost euro zone retail sales in Sept

[November 07, 2017]  BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A surge in sales of clothes, furniture and electrical goods boosted euro zone retail sales in September by more than expected despite a fall in motor fuel sales, pointing to rising domestic demand as the economy gathers pace.

A customer pushes a shopping trolley on an escalator at the Bercy shopping centre in Charenton Le Pont, near Paris, August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Charles Platiau/File Photo

The European Union's statistics office Eurostat said on Tuesday that retail sales in the 19 countries sharing the euro rose 0.7 percent month-on-month for a 3.7 percent year-on-year jump.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a monthly rise of 0.6 percent and a 2.7 percent annual gain.

Eurostat also revised sharply upwards retail sales data for August to -0.1 percent month-on-month from -0.5 percent previously estimated and to a gain of 2.3 percent year-on-year from 1.2 percent.

Retail sales signal the strength of domestic demand -- a vital component of the euro zone's gross domestic product, which in the third quarter rose 0.6 percent quarter-on-quarter and 2.5 percent year-on-year, accelerating from 2.3 percent in the previous three months.

(Reporting by Jan Strupczewski; editing by Philip Blenkinsop)

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