UK Retail Sales Up In Oct; Beat Forecasts

UK OCT RETAIL SALES +1.2% M/M; +5.8% Y/Y, ABOVE BBG -0.4% M/M

UK OCT RETAIL SALES EX-FUEL +1.3% M/M; +7.8% Y/Y

UK SEP TOTAL SALES REVISED AT +1.4% M/M

UK OCT RETAIL SALES DEFLATOR +0.4% Y/Y; EX-FUEL +0.4% Y/Y

Despite stricter measures to mitigate the spread of the virus, retail sales continued to increase in Oct. Sales rose 1.2%, marking the sixth consecutive month of gains, beating market forecasts expecting a decline by 0.4%. Ex-fuel sales were up 1.3% following Sep's 1.5% gain. Total sales are now 6.7% above Feb's pre-crisis level, while m/m ex-fuel sales are 8.5% higher. Oct's uptick was mainly driven by a sharp increase in non-store retailing which rose 6.4%. Moreover, household goods stores and department stores contributed positively in Oct. Clothing stores recorded a m/m decline of 1.1% after having recovered in recent months. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a reduction of footfall had impacted sales in Oct. The ONS further noted online sales were up again in Oct, while in-store sales dropped in terms value sales. Internet sales were up 4.7% on a monthly basis.