UK retail sales showed some growth in August, albeit falling short of market expectations. On a month-on-month basis, sales volumes increased by 0.4% mom, slightly under the anticipated 0.5% rise. When removing the impact of fuel, the volume rose by a slightly better 0.6% mom. In terms of the monetary value, sales were up 0.8% mom, with the figures excluding fuel at 0.7% mom.
Taking a step back to analyze a broader timeframe, the three-month period leading up to August 2023 witnessed a 0.3% rise in sales volumes compared to the previous three months. Same growth of 0.3% was observed for volumes that excluded auto sales. In value terms, the increase was more pronounced with a 1.3% growth, and the value excluding fuel sales experienced an even more robust growth of 2.0%.
