The Office for National Statistics reported on Thursday that retail sales in the U.K. increased more than forecast last month, as demand for warm clothes and school uniforms grew in the beginning of autumn. Sales that include fuel added 0.6% in September, compared to an August's decline of 0.1%. Economists, however, expected that last month's retail sales would gain 0.4%. Clothes, which were the main driver of retail sales, surged by 2.1%, increasing the total amount of sales by 0.2%.
'The data suggest consumers loosened their purse strings a little, albeit partly due to temporary factors. Still, renewed pressure on households' income suggests that sales volumes will struggle in the coming months,' said an economist at Capital Economics Ltd., Samuel Tombs.