| Time | Country | Event | Period | Previous value | Forecast | Actual |
|---|
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Retail Sales (MoM) | September | 1% | -0.3% | 0.3% |
| 06:00 | United Kingdom | Retail Sales (YoY) | September | 2.3% | 3.2% | 3.9% |
| 08:00 | Eurozone | Current account, adjusted, bln | August | 41.0 | 42.2 | 31 |
GBP advanced against most of its major rivals in the European session on Friday as investors responded to the latest data, which showed a surprise increase in the UK’s retail sales in September.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported that retail sales in Britain rose 0.3% MoM in September, following a 1.0% Mom jump in the previous month. Economists had predicted a decline of 0.3% MoM. The details of the ONS report revealed that September's rise in British retail sales was driven by higher sales at computer and telecommunications retailers, while sales at supermarkets demonstrated a drop, as poor weather conditions kept people away from shops.
On a YoY basis, the UK retail sales surged 3.9%, recording the strongest annual increase since February 2022.
The latest report had little impact on money markets’ bets on the Bank of England’s near-term rate actions. According to Bloomberg, they continue to expect a 25-basis-point rate cut at the BoE’s November meeting and see a 60% probability of another decrease in December.