UK retail sales rose 1.0% in August, versus 0.4% expected

• UK retail sales rose 1.0% in August, beating estimates.
• Core monthly retail sales for the UK rose 1.1% in August.
• GBP/USD regains 1.3300 after upbeat UK data.

Retail sales in the United Kingdom (UK) rose 1.0% in August after falling 0.5% in July, the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed on Friday. Markets had expected a 0.4% increase in the reported month.

Core retail sales, which strip out auto fuel sales, rose 1.1 percent month-on-month, versus the previous 0.7 percent jump and the 0.5 percent forecast.

Annual UK retail sales rose 2.5% in August, up from a 1.5% rise in July, while Core Retail sales rose 2.3% in the same month from 1.4% previously. Both figures beat market expectations.

Market reaction to UK retail sales report

GBP/USD it is picking up fresh bids after the encouraging release of UK data, 0.18% higher on the day near 1.3310 at the time of writing.