By Maria Martinez

Retail sales in Germany rose sharply in March, beating forecasts and posting their strongest increase since restrictions were imposed in March 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Retail sales increased 7.7% on month in March in calendar and seasonally adjusted terms, data from the country's statistics agency Destatis showed Monday. Economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a 2.6% increase.

On a year-on-year basis, German retail sales rose 11.0% in March, the data showed.

Compared with February 2020, the month before restrictions were first imposed in Germany, retail sales were up by 4.4% in March, Destatis said.

Write to Maria Martinez at maria.martinez@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

05-03-21 0304ET