German retail sales post surprise fall in April

BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales dropped by 0.9 percent in April, their second consecutive fall, casting some doubt over expectations that consumer spending will propel growth in Europe's largest economy as foreign trade weakens. The volatile indicator, which is often subject to revision, confounded expectations in a Reuters poll for a 0.9 percent rise on the month, data from the Federal Statistics Office showed on Tuesday. The data for March was revised down to a decline of 1.4 from a previously reported fall of 1.1 percent. On the year, retail sales rose by 2.3 percent in real terms, a marked increase compared with a downwardly revised increase of 0.6 percent the previous month. Economists polled by Reuters had expected a weaker rise of 1.9 percent. (Reporting by Joseph Nasr; Editing by Madeline Chambers)