By Maria Martinez

BERLIN German retail sales fell in September, as persistently high inflation took its toll on consumption in the euro zone's largest economy.

German retail sales fell unexpectedly by 0.8% in September compared with the previous month, data showed on Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.5% increase.

Year-on-year, retail sales fell by 4.3%, the data showed.

Household consumption was a drag on gross domestic product in the third quarter, the German statistics office said on Monday, as inflation continued to erode consumers' purchasing power.

"Consumption is unlikely to recover as optimists had hoped," Commerzbank's chief economist Joerg Kraemer said.

(Reporting by Maria Martinez and Friederike Heine, Editing by Rachel More and Maria Sheahan)