UK retail sales beat expectations in October

The office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK’s retail trade report, which showed that the UK consumer spending figures bettered expectations in the month of Oct.

The UK’s retail volumes came in at 0.3% in October m/m, while the annualized retail spending dipped sharply to -0.3%. Markets had estimated a 0.1% reading on a monthly basis; while a -0.6% print was expected on yearly basis.

Retail sales excluding volatile items such as fuel also beat expectations, arriving at 0.1% m/m and -0.3% y/y.