Investing.com – Retail sales in the UK rose more than expected in June, recovering slightly from the prior month’s slump and bolstering optimism over the British economy, official data showed on Thursday.
In a report, UK Office for National Statistics said that retail sales increased by 0.6% in June from the prior month, compared to the previous 1.1% decline which was revised from an initial 1.2% decrease.
Analysts had expected June’s reading to increase by only 0.4%.
Year-on-year, retail sales increased 2.9% last month, compared to forecasts for growth of 2.5% and May’s 0.9% advance.
Core retail sales, which exclude automobile sales and fuel, increased by 0.9% in June, compared to the prior 1.5% decline which was revised up from an initial fall of 1.6%.
Analysts had expected core retail sales to rise by just 0.5% last month.
Year-on-year, core retail sales rose 3.0% in June, compared to the previous month’s 0.6% increase and the consensus forecast for a 2.5% advance.
Following the report, GBP/USD traded at 1.30009 from around 1.2993 ahead of the release of the data, EUR/GBP was at 0.8843 from 0.8849 earlier, while GBP/JPY traded at 146.12 compared to 145.94 before the report.
Meanwhile, European stock markets traded higher. London’s FTSE 100 rose 0.45%, the Euro Stoxx 50 gained 0.77%, France's CAC 40 traded up 0.55%, while Germany's DAX advanced 0.67%.