UK retail sales drop in August, but beats expectations

The office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK’s retail trade report for the month of August, which showed that the UK consumer spending witness a smaller than expected drop.

The UK’s retail volumes fell -0.2% in Aug m/m, while the annualized retail spending rose 6.2%. Markets had estimated a -0.4% dip on a monthly basis, while a +5.4% reading was expected on yearly basis.

 Retail sales data excluding volatile items such as fuel also dropped -0.3% m/m, although rose 53.9% y/y.

ONS reports, “All store types except textile, clothing and footwear, and household goods stores showed increases in the quantity bought and amount spent compared with August 2015. The quantity bought in household goods contracted year-on-year for the first time since May 2014.”