Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.K. rose in line with market expectations in August, underlining optimism over the country’s economic outlook, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, meeting forecasts. July retail sales were revised down to a flat reading from a previously reported 0.1% gain.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 3.9% in August, below expectations for a 4.1% gain, after rising at a rate of 2.5% in July.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.2% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.3% gain, after rising 0.4% in the preceding month.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.6300 from around 1.6310 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7904 from 0.7901 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets remained higher. London’s FTSE 100 tacked on 0.2%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 advanced 0.7%, France's CAC 40 inched up 0.65%, while Germany's DAX rose 0.85%.