(MENAFN– ecpulse) U.K. retail sales rose in line with forecasts in August to continue the parade of optimistic data.
The reading including auto fuel showed 0.4 percent advance after recording 0.0 percent in July. On the year, the reading soared 3.9 percent from a revised of 2.5 percent gain.
Excluding auto fuel, retail sales edged up 0.2 percent, compared to forecast of a 0.3 percent gain, from a prior of 0.4 percent rise. The annual reading signaled 4.5 percent surge from a revised of 3.3 percent.
The recent data from the U.K. has suggested the economy is moving on the right track towards recovery.
ILO unemployment for the three months through July retreated to 6.2 percent from 6.4 percent, better than median forecasts. In August, jobless claims dropped 37,200 compared to analysts’ forecasts of 30,000 fall.
Yet, CPI for the year ended August retreated further to 1.5% from 1.6%, taking serious steps away from the BOE’s 2 percent target.
The BOE opted to leave both interest rate and amount of asset purchases on hold this month amid split between MPC members over raising interest rate.
Minutes for the BOE September policy meeting showed that MPC members Martin Weale and Ian McCafferty voted for a 25 basis points increase.
As of 08:38 GMT, the pound rose versus the U.S. dollar to hit a high of 1.6320. compared with the session’s opening of 1.6271.
The key focus will turn today to Scotland as voters go to vote on independence from the 307-year-old UK union.
A “Yes” vote could open the door for myriad problems in the financial sector, as some economists have warned Scotland would relapse into recession.
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