Investing.com – Retail sale volumes in the U.K. surged significantly more-than-expected in December, rising for the first time in seven months, industry data showed on Tuesday.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said the result of its index of U.K. retailers improved by 28.0 points to 9.0 in December from a reading of minus 19.0 in November.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 6.0 point to minus 13.0.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower.
Despite the sharp gain, retail sales were still considered poor for this time of year. U.K. retailers did not expect December’s modest sales growth to continue into the New Year, with annual sales volumes falling again in January.
Volumes of sales were poor for the time of year, with a balance of minus 16.0, well below the long-run average.
The three-month moving average, which smoothes out monthly peaks and troughs, was negative for the fifth month running at minus 7.0 and was expected to remain so in January.
Commenting on the report, Chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel Judith McKenna said, “Early discounting helped retailers add a little extra sparkle to their sales in December, although the reprieve appears to only be temporary as they don’t expect sales to continue to grow into January.”
She added that, "Consumers are continuing to hold off on purchasing big ticket items, including durable household goods, preferring to use their hard-earned cash to stock up for Christmas dinner and all important gifts for the family.”
Following the release of the data, the pound extended gains against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD surging 0.86% to trade at 1.5632.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. The FTSE 100 eased 0.15%, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.95%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.85%.
In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said the result of its index of U.K. retailers improved by 28.0 points to 9.0 in December from a reading of minus 19.0 in November.
Analysts had expected the index to improve by 6.0 point to minus 13.0.
On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower.
Despite the sharp gain, retail sales were still considered poor for this time of year. U.K. retailers did not expect December’s modest sales growth to continue into the New Year, with annual sales volumes falling again in January.
Volumes of sales were poor for the time of year, with a balance of minus 16.0, well below the long-run average.
The three-month moving average, which smoothes out monthly peaks and troughs, was negative for the fifth month running at minus 7.0 and was expected to remain so in January.
Commenting on the report, Chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Panel Judith McKenna said, “Early discounting helped retailers add a little extra sparkle to their sales in December, although the reprieve appears to only be temporary as they don’t expect sales to continue to grow into January.”
She added that, "Consumers are continuing to hold off on purchasing big ticket items, including durable household goods, preferring to use their hard-earned cash to stock up for Christmas dinner and all important gifts for the family.”
Following the release of the data, the pound extended gains against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD surging 0.86% to trade at 1.5632.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. The FTSE 100 eased 0.15%, the EURO STOXX 50 jumped 1%, France’s CAC 40 rose 0.95%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.85%.