Investing.com – Retail sales in the U.K. posted a worse-than-expected reading in September with month-on-month numbers showing showing a flat reading, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, U.K. Office for National Statistics said that retail sales were unchanged in September from the prior month, compared to the prior 0.2% decline.
Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 0.4% last month.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased 4.1%, compared to August’s 6.6% advance which was revised up from the initial reading of a 6.2% gain.
Consensus had forecast a 4.8% rise.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales and fuel, was also unchanged on the month, compared to the prior 0.1% decrease in August which was revised up from an initial reading of a 0.3% decline.
Analysts had expected core retail sales to rise 0.4% last month.
Year-on-year, core retail sales rose 4.0% in September, compared to the previous month’s 6.2% increase (revised from 5.9%) and the consensus forecast for a 4.5% advance.
In an immediate reaction, GBP/USD traded at 1.2267 from around 1.2275 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.8940 from 0.8937 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 103.69 compared to 103.70 before the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets saw mixed trade. London’s FTSE 100 dropped 0.17%, the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.19%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.04%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.20%.