U.K. retail sales grew at a slower pace than expected in July after a fall in the amount spent on food for the first time in 25 years when compared to the previous year, official data show.
Retail sales increased by 2.6 percent compared with July last year and were up 0.1 percent on the previous month, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
Economists polled by Reuters had expected retail sales to grow 0.4 percent growth on the month, with weakness largely down to lower petrol and food sales.
Read MoreBank of England: Ranks finally broken on rates
The ONS said July 2014 marked the first fall in consumer spending in food stores since the food stores series began in 1989.
Figures for July follow a strong reading for the second quarter, when sales volume jumped 1.6 percent quarter- on-quarter, the fastest growth for a quarter in 10 years.
via CNBC
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.