BRUSSELS, Nov 7: Eurozone retail sales slipped by 0.4 per cent in September from August but rose 0.9 per cent compared to the same month the previous year, the European Union’s Eurostat statistics agency said on Monday.

Analysts had been expecting a 0.7 per cent drop over one month and a 1.1 per cent increase over one year in the 12-nation zone which shares Europe’s single currency.

Economists have been looking for signs of improving household demand, which has been the weak link so far in a recovery underway in the eurozone as business confidence improves and industrial output picks up.

The September figures, which were only a first estimate by Eurostat, marked a slowdown in consumer spending from August when retail sales rose 0.9 per cent over one month and two per cent over one year.

In the 25-nation European Union, retail sales slipped 0.1 per cent in September from August and grew 1.4 per cent from the same month in 2004.”

—AFP