BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales jumped by 3.3 percent on the month in January, posting the strongest rise since October 2016 and more than offsetting a sharp drop in December, official figures showed on Friday.
Sales rose by 2.6 percent on the year, Germany's Federal Statistics Office said in a statement. The sharp monthly rebound marked a turnaround from December, when sales fell by 3.1 percent on the month.
Household spending has become a key growth driver in recent years as Germans benefit from record-high employment and low borrowing costs but retail sales are a volatile indicator often subject to revision.
The good mood among German shoppers was unchanged heading into March, a GfK survey showed on Tuesday, suggesting that household spending will support overall economic growth in the first quarter of this year.
(Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Paul Carrel; editing by Thomas Seythal)
