UK: Retailers' sales broadly unchanged in November after falling for six months

Retail sales in the United Kingdom in November were broadly unchanged on a yearly basis, the latest data published by the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) showed on Monday.

"38% of respondents reported that sales volumes were up on a year ago in November, while 41% said they were down, giving a balance of -3% - the highest balance in 7 months," the CBI noted in its publication.

Commenting on the data, "Retailers are entering the festive season with a bit of hope that sales will head up, with the strongest expectations in half a year," said Anna Leach, CBI Deputy Chief Economist. "Actual sales have also stabilised and have nudged above average for the time of year."

The British pound largely ignored the data and the GBP/USD pair was last seen trading at 1.2880, adding 0.3% on a daily basis.