Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.K. rose more than expected in October, fuelling 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 0.8% last month, above forecasts for a gain of 0.4%. September retail sales fell by 0.4%.
Year-on-year, retail sales rose at an annualized rate of 4.3% in October, beating expectations for a 3.8% gain, after rising at a rate of 2.3% in September.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.8% last month, compared to forecasts for a 0.3% rise, after falling 0.3% in the preceding month.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5681 from around 1.5651 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7981 from 0.7994 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.4%, the DJ Euro Stoxx 50 lost 1%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.9%, while Germany's DAX slumped 0.65%.