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| UK retail sales fall in September, ONS says | UK retail sales fall in September, ONS says |
| (34 minutes later) | |
| Retail sales suffered an unexpectedly sharp fall of 0.8% in September, reversing a jump in August, according to the Office for National Statistics. | Retail sales suffered an unexpectedly sharp fall of 0.8% in September, reversing a jump in August, according to the Office for National Statistics. |
| It meant that third-quarter retail growth slowed to a year-on-year rate of 1.5%, its lowest since the second quarter of 2013. | It meant that third-quarter retail growth slowed to a year-on-year rate of 1.5%, its lowest since the second quarter of 2013. |
| The figures come at the Bank of England contemplates its first interest rate rise in a decade. | The figures come at the Bank of England contemplates its first interest rate rise in a decade. |
| A fall in the value of sterling has pushed up the price of imported goods. | A fall in the value of sterling has pushed up the price of imported goods. |
| Kate Davies, ONS statistician, said: "There is a continuation of the underlying trend of steady growth in sales volumes following a weak start to the year, and a background of generally rising prices." | Kate Davies, ONS statistician, said: "There is a continuation of the underlying trend of steady growth in sales volumes following a weak start to the year, and a background of generally rising prices." |
| The ONS said retail prices continued to rise across all store types and were up 3.3% from a year earlier, the highest year-on-year increase since March 2012. | |
| The biggest downward pressure on sales volume and value in September was in non-food stores. Food stores also reported falls in both measures, but to a lesser degree than non-food outlets, the ONS said. | |
| Online sales values increased year-on-year by 14%, accounting for approximately 17% of all retail spending. | |
| Neil Jones, Mizuho's head of hedge fund currency sales in London, said the retail data was "not encouraging". | |
| The value of pound fell immediately after the figures were released, with sterling down almost half a cent to $1.3126, as traders bet that the data reduced the chances of an imminent interest rate rise. |