Investing.com – The increase in retail sales in the U.K. in November matched expectations, though core sales rose more than forecast, bolstering optimism on the British economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, U.K. Office for National Statistics said that retail sales increased 0.2% in November from the prior month, compared to the prior gain of 1.8% which was revised from a previous 1.9% increase.
November’s reading was in line with consensus.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased 5.9% last month as expected, compared to October’s 7.2% advance which was revised from the initial reading of a 7.4% gain.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales and fuel, gained 0.5% on the month, compared to the prior 1.9% increase in September which was revised down from an initial 2.0% advance.
Analysts had expected core retail sales to rise just 0.1% last month.
Year-on-year, core retail sales rose 6.6% in November, compared to the previous month’s 7.5% increase (initially 7.6%) and the consensus forecast for a 6.1% advance.
In an immediate reaction, GBP/USD traded at 1.2533 from around 1.2525 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.8380 from 0.8378 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 147.50 compared to 147.49 before the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets saw mixed trade. London’s FTSE 100 lost 0.12%, the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.47%, France's CAC 40 rose 0.53%, while Germany's DAX traded up 0.48%.