German retail sales bounce back strongly in October

BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales bounced back strongly in October after a steep drop in September as the private consumption that has become vital for growth in Europe's biggest economy showed signs of renewed strength.

Data from the Federal Statistics Office on Friday showed retail sales were up 1.9 percent in October in real terms from September and climbed 1.7 percent from October 2013 -- exceeding the consensus forecast for a month-on-month rise of 1.5 percent.

The statistics office also reported a revision to September's figure, saying retail sales were down 2.8 percent in real terms from August after first reporting on Oct. 31 that they had fallen 3.2 percent on the month.

The retail sales data are notoriously volatile.

German retail sales for the first 10 months of the year were up 1.3 percent in nominal terms, the statistics office said.

A sharp rise in private consumption helped boost Germany's third quarter growth, the statistics office said on Tuesday.

Private consumption rose 0.7 percent quarter-on-quarter, the biggest increase in three years, and overall consumption contributed 0.5 percentage points to growth and more than compensated for weakness in investment.

Germany's gross domestic product grew a seasonally adjusted 0.1 percent in the third quarter, the office said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Erik Kirschbaum; Editing by Catherine Evans)