UK Jan retail sales rebound, but miss estimates

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) published the UK’s retail trade report, which showed that the UK consumer spending figures staged a solid rebound but fell short of expectations in the month of January.

The UK’s retail volumes came in at 0.1% in January m/m, while the annualized retail spending eased 1.6%. Markets had estimated a 0.5% reading on a monthly basis; while a 2.6% print was expected on yearly basis.

Retail sales excluding volatile items such as fuel also missed expectations, arriving at 0.1% m/m and 1.5% y/y.