German retail body sees 2014 sales rising by 1.5 percent

BERLIN (Reuters) - German retail sales will climb by 1.5 percent this year in nominal terms after growing by 1.1 percent in 2013, Germany's HDE retail association said on Friday.

"Seldom have the general conditions for consumption in Germany been so favourable," HDE managing director Stefan Genth said.

"However, retail is hardly able to benefit from it because rising electricity prices are weighing strongly on consumers' purchasing power."

HDE's figures can differ from official data released by the Federal Statistics Office as they include different branches of retail. The official data showed earlier on Friday nominal retail sales were up 1.4 percent last year.

(Reporting by Rene Wagner; Writing by Michelle Martin)