UK Retail Sales decline 0.7% on a monthly basis in October vs. -0.3% expected

• Retail Sales in the UK declined at a faster pace than expected in October.
• GBP/USD trades at fresh multi-month lows near 1.2550 after the data.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Friday that Retail Sales declined 0.7% on a monthly basis in October. This reading followed the 0.1% increase recorded in September and came in worse than the market expectation for a decline of 0.3%. On a yearly basis, Retail Sales rose 2.4%, compared to the market expectation of 3.4%.

In the same period, Retail Sales ex-Fuel fell 0.9% on a monthly basis, while increasing 2% annually.

Market reaction

GBP/USD stays under bearish pressure following these figures and was last seen trading at its lowest level since May near 1.2550, losing 0.3% on the day.