UK October retail sales -0.3% vs +0.3% m/m expected

• Prior -0.9%; revised to -1.1%
• Retail sales -2.7% vs -1.5% y/y expected
• Prior -1.0%; revised to -1.3%
• Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) -0.1% vs +0.4% m/m expected
• Prior -1.0%; revised to -1.3%
• Retail sales (ex autos, fuel) -2.4% vs -1.5% y/y expected
• Prior -1.2%; revised to -1.5%

Death, taxes, and UK retail sales disappointing estimates. It is once again another month with a significant miss on retail sales, highlighting the softness of the UK consumer this year. As consumption activity struggles, that won’t provide much comfort to the BOE as it would mean that they might not be given much room to tighten policy further if need be.

The pound is down on the release with GBP/USD falling from 1.2412 to 1.2390 at the moment.