In a report released by the Office for National Statistics on Friday, it was revealed that UK retail sales experienced an upswing in November, marking the first monthly increase in three months. The volume of retail sales rose by 0.2 percent during the month, reversing a previous decline of 0.7 percent in October, though the growth fell short of the anticipated 0.5 percent.
When excluding auto fuel, retail sales saw a month-over-month increase of 0.3 percent, contrasting with the 0.9 percent drop observed the previous month. Economists had predicted that there would be no growth in November.
Particularly noteworthy, food store sales volumes increased by 0.5 percent, led by a robust performance in supermarkets, marking the first surge in three months. Non-food stores, encompassing department stores, clothing outlets, household goods, and other non-food retailers, saw a 0.2 percent rise in sales volumes. Conversely, sales of automotive fuel decreased by 0.7 percent.
On an annual basis, retail sales growth decelerated to 0.5 percent from October's 2.0 percent. When excluding auto fuel, the growth in sales volume slowed to 0.1 percent from the previous month's 1.6 percent increase.
