- UK retail sales came in at -1.0%m/m in December, disappointing expectations.
- Excluding fuel, the indicator fell 1.1% monthly.
- The price of the pound has hit lows near 1.2350 after the negative data from the UK.
UK retail sales fell 1% m/m in December, accentuating November’s 0.5% decline and disappointing expectations for a 0.5% rise. This is the largest drop seen since September.
On an annual basis, the indicator plummeted 5.8% after the 5.7% drop the previous month, also disappointing the market consensus, which pointed to a 4.1% decline.
Excluding fuel, retail sales were down 1.1% after falling 0.3% in November, worsening the forecast of the experts, who expect a rise of 0.4%. The annual indicator fell 6.1% after falling 5.6% the previous month, accentuating the estimated fall of 4.4%.
GBP/USD Reaction
The GBP/USD has reacted lower to the data, losing around 15 pips to hit fresh daily lows at 1.2353. At time of writing, the pair is trading above 1.2356, losing 0.25% daily.
Source: Fx Street
I am Joshua Winder, a senior-level journalist and editor at World Stock Market. I specialize in covering news related to the stock market and economic trends. With more than 8 years of experience in this field, I have become an expert in financial reporting.
