German flag at the Reichstag in Berlin
Roughly 1.9 million Germans visited the U.S. in 2012, a gain of about 2.9 percent. Reuters

Germany’s retail sales in August were lower than expectations but recorded an improvement on a monthly basis, to achieve a growth rate of 0.5 percent after a decline of 0.2 percent in July, data from the German Federal Statistical Office showed.

Analysts had expected retail sales to grow by 0.8 percent on a monthly basis.

Year-on-year, German retail sales in August were up 0.3 percent, significantly lower than July’s 2.9 percent, and marginally below analysts’ expectations of 0.4 percent.