Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.K. rose much more than expected in September, boosting optimism over the country’s economic outlook and supporting the case for higher interest rates, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales surged by a seasonally adjusted 1.9% last month, blowing past forecasts for a gain of 0.3%. Retail sales in August fell by 0.4%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported gain of 0.2%.
Falling store prices and Rugby World Cup promotions helped boost retail sales in September, according to the ONS.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased at an annualized rate of 6.5% in September, above expectations for a 4.8% gain, after rising at a rate of 3.5% in August.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, jumped by a seasonally adjusted 1.7% last month, easily surpassing forecasts for a 0.3% increase and following a drop of 0.7% in August.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5507 from around 1.5475 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7299 from 0.7311 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mixed. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.25%, the EURO STOXX 50 tacked on 0.1%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.1%, while Germany's DAX inched up 0.2%.