UK September retail sales -0.9% vs -0.2% m/m expected

<ul><li>Prior +0.4%</li><li>Retail sales -1.0% vs -0.1% y/y expected</li><li>Prior -1.4%; revised to -1.3%</li><li>Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) -1.0% vs -0.4% m/m expected</li><li>Prior +0.6%</li><li>Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) -1.2% vs -0.2% y/y expected</li><li>Prior -1.4%; revised to -1.3%</li></ul><p>It may sound repetitive but this is once again more evidence of struggle in UK consumption activity. As much as inflation is coming off as per ONS estimates, I'm not sure if that is translating much to activity on the ground. You can see how the divergence between the volume and value of retail sales have failed to narrow despite that:</p><p>GBP/USD is knocked down by about 15 pips on the data from 1.2125 to a low of 1.2110 as this just feeds more into the narrative that the BOE might struggle to turn to rate hikes again after the latest pause.</p>

This article was written by Justin Low at www.forexlive.com.