FRANKFURT (AFP) –
German retail sales fell by 1.5 percent in August from the preceeding month, confounding expectations for a slight rise, preliminary data released on Thursday by the national statistics office showed.

Analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast an increase of 0.1 percent, following a rise of 0.7 percent in July.

The Destatis statistics office bases its estimation on six German states which represent around 76 percent of all German retail sales.