UK Retail Sales beat estimates with 1.2% MoM in October, GBP/USD uninspired
- The UK Retail Sales came in at 1.2% MoM in October.
- Core Retail Sales for the UK rose by 1.3% MoM in October.
- The cable remains capped below 1.33 on upbeat UK Retail Sales.
The UK retail sales came in at 1.2% over the month in October vs. 0% expected and 1.5% previous. The core retail sales, stripping the auto motor fuel sales, stood at 1.3% MoM vs. 0.1% expected and 1.6% previous.
On an annualized basis, the UK retail sales jumped by 5.8% in October versus 4.2% expected and 4.7% prior while the core retail sales increased by 7.8% in the reported month versus 5.9% expectations and 6.4% previous.
Main points (via ONS)
“In October 2020, retail sales volumes increased by 1.2% when compared with September; the sixth consecutive month of growth in the industry.“
“Growth in the volume of sales for non-store retailing at 6.4%, household goods stores at 3.2% and department stores at 3.1%.”
“Consumers started Christmas shopping earlier this year, also seeing early discounting from a range of stores.”
FX implications
GBP/USD holds the higher ground, as the pound cheers the upbeat UK macro news. The spot now trades +0.16% on the day, flirting with daily highs of 1.3288.
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
