UK Retail Sales Jump In Sep Despite Resurgence of Covid Cases

UK SEP RETAIL SALES +1.5% M/M; +4.7% Y/Y, ABOVE BBG +0.2% M/M

UK SEP RETAIL SALES EX-FUEL +1.6% M/M; +6.4% Y/Y

UK AUG TOTAL SALES REVISED AT +0.9% M/M

UK SEP RETAIL SALES DEFLATOR +0.3% Y/Y; EX-FUEL +0.3% Y/Y

Retail sales rose 1.5% in Sep, beating market forecasts looking for a gain of just 0.2%. This marks the fifth consecutive gain since the indicator plunged at the beginning of the pandemic. Ex-fuel sales were up 1.6%, following Aug's reading of 0.6%. Total sales are now 5.5% above Feb's level, while ex-fuel sales are 7.0% higher. Retail sales in the three months to Sep surged 17.4%, showing the largest increase on record. Sep's uptick was driven by another gain in non-food store sales, rising 4.0% in Sep. The ONS noted that most stores have now recovered to pre-pandemic levels with spending on home improvement and gardening items doing particularly well. Food stores and online retailers have also fared especially well. The proportion of online sales was at 27.5% in Sep, compared to 20.1% in Feb, despite small monthly declines. However, clothing and fuel sales continue to record sales volumes below Feb's level as consumers continue to work from home and reduced the amount of travels. Clothing sales were still 12.7% lower than in Feb, while fuel were down 8.6% compared to pre-crisis levels.