UK retail sales drop 0.1% MoM in October vs. +0.2% expected, GBP eases from tops

• The UK retail sales declined by 0.1% MoM in October.
• The core retail sales fell 0.3% MoM during the reported month.

The headline UK retail sales came in to show an unexpected fall of 0.1% in October as compared to 0.2% growth expected and a flat reading recorded in the previous month. Meanwhile, the core retail sales, stripping the auto motor fuel sales, also fell by 0.3% MoM as against consensus estimates pointing to a 0.2% growth and previous.
 
On an annualized basis, the UK retail sales rose 3.1% in October versus 3.7% growth expected while the core retail sales also advanced 2.7% in the reported month versus +2.9% previous and +3.4% expectations.

GBP/USD eases from tops

The dismal data exerted some downward pressure on the British pound, with the GBP/USD pair trimming a part of its early gains and quickly retreating around 15 pips from daily tops to currently trading around mid-1.2800s.