German retail sector posts strongest growth in 21 years in 2015

Retailers in Germany clocked up their strongest annual increase in sales in 21 years in 2015, with business expanding by 2.7 percent, official data showed on Friday.

German retail sales, a closely watched measure of household confidence, eased by a fractional 0.2 percent in December alone, the federal statistics office Destatis calculated in a statement.

But retailers' sales jumped by 2.7 percent during the whole of 2015, which was the strongest increase since 1994, Destatis said.

Consumer sentiment is currently robust in Europe's biggest economy and domestic demand is the main engine of growth.

Earlier this week, a leading consumer confidence index tracked by the market research company GfK showed that German consumers are continuing to shrug off, at least for now, terror warnings and economic uncertainties regarding the massive influx of refugees.