German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall While Imports Rise

German Retail Sales Unexpectedly Fall

Germany’s retail sales dropped 2.0% month-over-month in March 2026, significantly missing market expectations for a milder 0.1% decline and deepening from a downwardly revised 0.3% fall in the previous month. This marked the third consecutive monthly contraction and the sharpest decrease since October 2022, as heightened uncertainty linked to the Middle East conflict weighed on consumer sentiment and spending. Food sales led the downturn, falling 2.7%, while non-food sales slipped 1.0%. In contrast, online and mail-order trade showed resilience, rising 3.0%. On an annual basis, retail sales also fell 2.0%, swinging from an upwardly revised 0.9% increase in February and undershooting forecasts for a 0.5% gain.

German Import Prices Rise More than Expected

Germany’s import prices climbed 2.3% yoy in March 2026, rebounding from a 2.3% decline in each of the previous three months and above the forecast of 1.6%. This marked the first increase in import prices since March 2025 and the fastest pace since February 2025, driven largely by a 13.2% rise in energy costs, as prices increased for mineral oil products (41.6%), crude oil (24.6%), and electricity (4.4%). Intermediate goods prices also rose 4.1%, driven by increases in non-ferrous metals and semi-finished non-ferrous metal products (25.8%) and precious metals (58.4%). Capital goods prices also rose 0.6%, while consumer goods prices fell 1.9%, with both durable (-1.1%) and non-durable goods (-2.1%) declining. Meanwhile, agricultural product cost fell 6.2%, led by sharp declines in raw cocoa (-57.8%) and green coffee (-14.4%). Monthly, import prices rose 3.6%, accelerating sharply from February’s 0.3% and above market expectations of 3%, marking the fastest pace since March 2022.

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