Nov 25 Reuters European stocks were subdued on Friday, with retail companies under pressure as the holiday shopping season kicked off amid worries of a sharply slowing global economy and skyhigh inflation.

The panEuropean STOXX 600 slipped 0.1 by 0811 GMT but held below threemonth highs hit earlier this week.

Europe39;s retail index fell 0.6 on Black Friday, which kicks off the holiday shopping season, though taking place against a backdrop of a worsening costofliving crisis and the distraction of the soccer World Cup this year.

The index is among the worstperforming sectors in Europe, with a 32 drop yeartodate.

However, the benchmark STOXX 600 was also set for its sixth consecutive week of gains following signs that the U.S. Federal Reserve could temper its pace of rate hikes.

Investors on Thursday largely looked past the minutes of the European Central Bank39;s October meeting that showed policymakers feared inflation may be getting entrenched so rates would need to rise further.

Meanwhile, data on Friday showed the German economy grew slightly more in the third quarter than preliminary figures suggested, bolstered by consumer spending.

Reporting by Sruthi Shankar in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D39;Souza

Source Reuters