UK retail sales logged a bigger-than-expected decline in September as the cost of living pressures damped spending and consumer sentiment. Retail sales dropped 0.9 percent on a monthly basis, in contrast to the 0.4 percent increase in August, the Office for Statistics reported Friday. Sales were forecast to ease 0.2 percent.
Food store sales grew only 0.2 percent, following a rise of 1.4 percent in August.
Due to the high cost of living and the unseasonably warm weather reducing sales of autumn-wear clothing, non-food store sales declined 1.9 percent.
Non-store retailing sales, predominantly online retail sales, decreased 2.2 percent after a 0.9 percent drop in August. On the other hand, automotive fuel sales grew 0.8 percent, rebounding from a 1.0 percent fall in August. Excluding auto fuel, retail sales registered a monthly fall of 1.0 percent, offsetting the 0.6 percent gain in August and worse than economists' forecast of 0.1 percent drop.
Year-on-year, overall retail sales volume dropped at a slower pace of 1.0 percent after easing 1.3 percent in August. Meanwhile, excluding auto fuel, the decline in retail sales eased to 1.2 percent from 1.3 percent a month ago.
Elsewhere, survey results from GfK showed that rising energy costs, high mortgage and rental rates, and geopolitical risks had dampened consumer sentiment in October.
The consumer confidence index unexpectedly fell to -30 from -21 in September. The score was forecast to improve to -20.
