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The eurozone's weak retail sales have got economists worried

Retail Sales In The Eurozone Left Something To Be Desired

Data out on Monday showed that the eurozone retail sales are still pretty scanty.

**What does this mean?**

Economists look to retail sales as a litmus test for consumer demand in general, so the eurozone’s latest performance has them furrowing their brows hard. Mind you, the feebleness of sales is no great surprise: the bloc's core inflation figure – which strips out volatile things like food and energy – [hit](https://news.yahoo.com/euro-zone-inflation-barely-slows-101509779.html) a record high last month, while the central bank’s hiking at the fastest pace on record to try and calm it down. But Europe’s been on the ropes according to January’s data: retail sales rose just 0.3% from the month before – well below the 1% rise economists were expecting – which left them languishing lower than the same time last year.



**Why should I care?**

***The bigger picture:*** *Near miss at best.*

Consumer spending is the lifeblood of the eurozone economy, so this news is pretty concerning, especially alongside reports that construction activity continued to shrink. And while some economists think the region will avoid a recession, data like this shows how fragile the recovery might be – and suggests the eurozone could have entered a period of stagnation. That means any kind of improvement could be an uphill slog, but there’s a slim ray of light at the end of the tunnel: consumer confidence hit a year’s high in the bloc last month.



***Zooming out:*** *Let them eat cake – for real.*

The French government is doing its best to help, striking a deal with major supermarkets on Monday in a bid to stop inflation emptying French pantries. The move will see retailers sell essential groceries at the cheapest possible prices – which will pinch *their* wallets by hundreds of millions of euros, but probably delight shoppers.



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encryptedEmail

planSlug

slugOrId

ContentPieceQuery

viewer

authorization

content

SingleContentPiece_viewer

webSubscriptions

contentPiece

mostPopularTags

features

query ContentPieceQuery(
  $slugOrId: String
  $encryptedEmail: String
  $planSlug: String
) {
  viewer {
    authorization {
      roles {
        isAnonymous
      }
      ...SingleContentPiece_authorization
    }
    ...SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi
    content(encryptedEmail: $encryptedEmail) {
      ...SingleContentPiece_content
      contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
        __typename
        ...SingleContentPiece_contentPiece
        canonicalLink
        id
      }
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment AccessibleImage_accessibleImage on AccessibleURLImage {
  full
  altText
}

fragment AdvertWrapper_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
  id
  advertHandle
  destinationUrl
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
    id
  }
}

fragment AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
    defaultWebPlan {
      ...PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4
    }
  }
}

fragment AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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    ...ServerImage_image
  }
  title
}

fragment AuthorLinkWrapper_author on Author {
  slug
  isActive
}

fragment Avatar_image on URLImage {
  original
}

fragment BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert on ProductAdvert {
  title
  description
  destinationUrl
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
    id
  }
  wideImage {
    ...AccessibleImage_accessibleImage
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  narrowImage {
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  ...AdvertWrapper_activeProductAdvert
}

fragment Block_block on ContentPieceBlock {
  __isContentPieceBlock: __typename
  __typename
  ... on TextBlock {
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  ... on ImageBlock {
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  ... on QuoteBlock {
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}

fragment ContentAuthorAndMetadata_author on Author {
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  ...AuthorLinkWrapper_author
}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment ContentDownloadBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...DownloadContentDropdown_contentPiece
  ...LicenseContentButton_contentPiece
  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ContentFooter_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  title
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_authorization on Authorization {
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    isB2bUser
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}

fragment ContentHeaderDetails_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece
  ...ContentDownloadBlock_contentPiece
  id
  title
  deepLink
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    slug
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}

fragment ContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...EvergreenContentHeader_contentPiece
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    name
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}

fragment ContentMetadata_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  consumptionTime
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  author {
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}

fragment ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece on ContentPiece {
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}

fragment ContentPieceSEO_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  title
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  subtitle
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  byline
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}

fragment ContentPieceSponsor_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  sponsoringCompany {
    id
    name
    link
    logo {
      ...ServerImage_image
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}

fragment DefaultContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...ContentHeaderDetails_contentPiece
  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...ContentMetadata_contentPiece
  id
  title
  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
  }
  author {
    ...AuthorLinkWrapper_author
    ...ContentAuthorAndMetadata_author
    id
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk on Viewer {
  contentPieceTranslation: contentPiece(slugOrId: $slugOrId) {
    __typename
    id
    title
    isAvailableToProducts
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      ... on Node {
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    }
    keyInsightsBlocks {
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_blocks on ContentPieceBlock {
  __isContentPieceBlock: __typename
  ... on TextBlock {
    textMarkdown
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}

fragment DownloadContentDropdown_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  localeMapping {
    languageCode
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment EvergreenContentHeader_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...ContentMetadata_contentPiece
  ...ListenButton_contentPiece
  ...ContentPieceSponsor_contentPiece
  ...ContentPieceBookmarkIcon_contentPiece
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  hasChapters
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  headerImage {
    ...ServerImage_image
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}

fragment ImageBlock_block on ImageBlock {
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  alt
  caption
  link
}

fragment KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  keyInsightsBlocks {
    id
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}

fragment KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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    id
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}

fragment KeyInsights_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...KeyInsightsCarousel_contentPiece
  ...KeyInsightsBlock_contentPiece
  keyInsightsBlocks {
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    textMarkdown
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}

fragment LicenseContentButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  id
  title
  isAvailableToProducts
}

fragment ListenButton_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  title
  trackingTitle
  subtitle
  readingTime
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
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  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
}

fragment LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  webSubscriptions {
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    }
  }
}

fragment MainContentSection_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
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  ...ContentFooter_contentPiece
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  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  id
  canonicalLink
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    name
    trackingName
  }
  blocks {
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}

fragment MostPopularTags_tags on GenericTagConnection {
  edges {
    node {
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      ... on ContentTag {
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      ... on GeographyTag {
        slug
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      ...Tag_tag
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}

fragment Navigation_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isB2bUser
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}

fragment Navigation_tags on GenericTagConnection {
  ...MostPopularTags_tags
}

fragment PaywallBanner_contentPieceType on ContentPieceType {
  isAvailableForFreemium
}

fragment PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4 on Viewer {
  ...AnonymousPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...LoggedInPaywall_viewer_2HyoJ4
}

fragment PremiumAccountPromotionPanel_webPaymentPlan_2HyoJ4 on WebPaymentPlan {
  amount
  currency
  currencySymbol
  interval
  promotionApplied(slug: $planSlug) {
    stripeDiscount {
      discountPct
      discountAmount
      id
    }
    id
  }
}

fragment QuoteBlock_block on QuoteBlock {
  quote
  caption
}

fragment ServerImage_image on URLImage {
  full
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_authorization on Authorization {
  ...authorization_authorization
  ...ContentHeaderDetails_authorization
  ...ContentDownloadBlock_authorization
  ...EvergreenContentHeader_authorization
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
  }
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_content on Content {
  ...authorization_content
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  ...AudioOnlyBanner_contentPiece
  ...authorization_contentPiece
  ...MainContentSection_contentPiece
  globalContentPieceId
  trackingTitle
  isPremium
  hasBlocks
  hasChapters
  hasAudio
  contentPieceType {
    name
    trackingName
    isAvailableForFreemium
    ...PaywallBanner_contentPieceType
  }
  chapters {
    __typename
    id
    slug
  }
  sponsoringCompany {
    name
    id
  }
  activeProductAdvert {
    ...BannerAdvert_activeProductAdvert
    id
  }
}

fragment SingleContentPiece_viewer_4uP6yi on Viewer {
  ...PaywallBanner_viewer_2HyoJ4
  ...DownloadContentDropdownContentPieceRefetch_viewer_1QxYRk
  mostPopularTags(first: 10) {
    ...Navigation_tags
  }
  authorization {
    ...Navigation_authorization
  }
  features
}

fragment Tag_tag on GenericTag {
  __isGenericTag: __typename
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  ... on AssetClassTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on GeographyTag {
    name
    slug
  }
  ... on ContentTag {
    name
    slug
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}

fragment TextBlock_block on TextBlock {
  textMarkdown
}

fragment authorization_authorization on Authorization {
  roles {
    isPreviewingContentAllowance
    isPreviewing
    isAnonymous
    hasPremiumSubscription
    isFreemium
  }
}

fragment authorization_content on Content {
  anonymousUserHasPremium
}

fragment authorization_contentPiece on ContentPieceInterface {
  __isContentPieceInterface: __typename
  isPremium
  contentPieceType {
    isAvailableForFreemium
  }
}


Retail Sales In The Eurozone Left Something To Be Desired

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