UK retail sales drop sharply in Sept, a big miss on expectations

The office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK’s retail trade report, which showed that the UK consumer spending stalled its rebound and showed a bigger-than expected drop in the month of September.

The UK’s retail volumes came in at -0.8% in September m/m, while the annualized retail spending dipped sharply to 1.2%. Markets had estimated a -0.1% reading on a monthly basis; while a 2.1% print was expected on yearly basis.

Retail sales excluding volatile items such as fuel also disappointed, arriving at -0.7% m/m and 1.6% y/y.