German retail sales unexpectedly drop.

German retail sales fell 1.5% on month in June vs a rise of 0.7% in May and consensus for an increase of 0.2%, with the unexpected decline weighing on market sentiment. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate held steady at 6.8% in July as the number of people out of work dropped by 7,000 to around 2.93M. Q2 "is dominated by catch-up effects after a weak start into the year," says economist Christian Lips, but adds that the economy will expand this year.