Investing.com - Retail sales in the U.K. rose less than expected in July, dampening optimism over the country’s economic outlook and dimming prospects for higher interest rates, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, the U.K. Office for National Statistics said retail sales increased by a seasonally adjusted 0.1% last month, disappointing forecasts for a gain of 0.4%.
Retail sales in June fell by 0.1%, whose figure was revised from a previously reported decline of 0.2%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased at an annualized rate of 4.2% in July, below expectations for a 4.4% gain, after rising at a rate of 4.2% in June.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales, inched up by a seasonally adjusted 0.4% last month, in line with forecasts and following a drop of 0.3% in June.
GBP/USD was trading at 1.5651 from around 1.5656 ahead of the release of the data, while EUR/GBP was at 0.7108 from 0.7106 earlier.
Meanwhile, European stock markets were mostly lower. London’s FTSE 100 shed 0.5%, the EURO STOXX 50 dipped 0.65%, France's CAC 40 declined 0.5%, while Germany's DAX slumped 0.75%.