UK retail sales rises above expectations in Oct

The office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK’s retail trade report for the month of October, which showed that the UK consumer spending increased much stronger-than expectations across the time horizon, staging a solid return into positive territory.

The UK’s retail volumes came in at 1.9% in Oct m/m, while the annualized retail spending jumped +7.40%. Markets had estimated a +0.4% rise on a monthly basis, while a +5.8% reading was expected on yearly basis.

 Retail sales data excluding volatile items such as fuel also rose +2.0% m/m and +7.6% y/y.

ONS reports, “All store types showed increases in the quantity bought and amount spent compared with October 2015. The largest increases in both the quantity bought and amount spent came from non-store retailing.”