Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.K. fell more than expected in October, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook and dimming the case for higher interest rates, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales declined by a seasonally adjusted 0.6% last month, worse than forecasts for a decline of 0.5%. Retail sales in September rose by 1.7%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 1.9%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased at an annualized rate of 3.8% in October, below expectations for a 4.2% gain, after rising at a rate of 6.2% in September.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, fell by a seasonally adjusted 0.9% last month, disappointing forecasts for a 0.5% decline and following a gain of 1.5% in September.
The drop in sales came mostly from food, department stores and textiles & clothing, according to the ONS.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5248 from around 1.5254 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7012 from 0.7005 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were broadly higher. London’s FTSE 100 jumped 1.05%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 1.05%, France's CAC 40 tacked on 0.8%, while Germany's DAX rallied 1.4%.