UK retail sales declined unexpectedly in November as the rising cost of living and weak consumer sentiment dragged down consumer spending.<\/p>\n
Retail sales volume fell 0.4 percent from October, when turnover was up by revised 0.9 percent, data from the Office for National Statistics showed Friday. Sales were expected to gain 0.3 percent. <\/p>\n
Sales excluding auto fuel decreased 0.3 percent, in contrast to the 0.7 percent rise in October and economists’ forecast of +0.3 percent.<\/p>\n
On a yearly basis, retail sales including auto fuel logged a fall of 5.9 percent, the same pace of decline as seen in October. This was bigger than the 5.6 percent decrease expected by economists.<\/p>\n
Sales, excluding auto fuel also posted an annual drop of 5.9 percent, after easing 6.4 percent in the previous month. Core sales were seen falling 5.8 percent.<\/p>\n
The rise in food stores sales volume was offset by falls in the other major sectors. Sales of predominantly food stores rebounded 0.9 percent because of customers stocking up early for Christmas. <\/p>\n