German retail sales rose for the third month in five in May, but economists said it was too early to speak of a turnaround in consumer spending because of statistical revisions to the data. Sales rose by 1.2 percent month-on-month in real terms in May, the biggest rise since January, the Federal Statistics Office said on Tuesday. Year-on-year sales rose by 2.7 percent.
The latest German figures compared with May data for the euro region published on Tuesday, which showed a monthly gain of 1.1 percent and an annual increase of 2.0 percent.
The Statistics Office said the May figures, which were based on data from six German states accounting for 81 percent of total sales, were calculated using a new list of companies designed to give a more representative picture of current market trends.
"After ten years or so the list gets a bit out of date so it needs to be revised," said a spokesman for the Office. "This new one is more representative."
The old list dated back to 1993 and was more focused on larger, established firms. The Office also said it had changed the base year for its calculations from 2000 to 2003.
In the first five months of this year sales rose by 0.6 percent in real terms from the same period a year earlier. But in the first four months of the year, prior to the revision, the Office estimated sales fell one percent year-on-year.
"The figures are clearly better than forecast although it's a bit difficult to make a full assessment because of the revision to the sample used in the survey," said Klaus Schruefer, an economist at SEB bank in Frankfurt.
Germany's BAG retail association responded cautiously to the news, saying it was too early to hope the retail sector in Europe's largest economy had turned a corner.
Data from the GfK market research group has shown German consumer confidence slipping in recent months. High unemployment continues to be a major impediment to freer spending. GfK last week forecast a further decline in sentiment in July.
A broader measure of the retail sector made by the Bundesbank which includes sales of cars and turnover at highway service stations, showed an increase from April of 0.9 percent.