UK Retail Sales Increase in September, Outpacing Expectations
October 23 2020 - 02:38AM
Dow Jones News
By Xavier Fontdegloria
Retail sales in the U.K. grew for fifth straight month in
September and at a quicker pace than that of August, data from the
Office for National Statistics showed Friday.
Sales volumes increased by 1.5% in September compared with the
previous month, taking the overall level of sales 5.5% above
February's pre-pandemic levels.
The reading beats expectations from economists polled by The
Wall Street Journal, who forecasted sales to rise 0.5%.
On an annual basis, retail sales were up 4.7%, above the
economists' expectations of a 3.6% increase.
While food sales have done well in recent months as people have
eaten out less, nonfood store sales have made a recovery to 1.7%
above their February levels, the report said.
Write to Xavier Fontdegloria at xavier.fontdegloria@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 23, 2020 02:23 ET (06:23 GMT)
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