UK Retail Sales Weaker Than Expected in Living Cost Crisis
- Fuel sales jumped, but many other categories fell in month
- Consumer confidence ticked up but remains near record low
The volume of goods sold in shops and online rose 0.3%.
Photographer: Jose Sarmento Matos/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
UK retail sales posted a weaker than expected rebound in October, underlining the cost-of-living crisis draining consumer spending power.
Excluding fuel sales, the volume of goods sold in shops and online rose 0.3% after a 1.5% drop in September, when stores were closed for the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, the Office for National Statistics said Friday. Economists had forecasts a 0.6% gain.