UK retail sales rose 1.6% m/m in April, beating/missing the expectations.

• UK retail sales rose 1.6% m/m in April coming out above market expectations.
• The core retail sales in the UK rose 1.3% m/m in April.

The UK retail sales rose 1.6% over the month in April coming out well above market expectations while core retail sales stripping the comparison base of the auto motor fuel sales rose 1.3% m/m.

The UK retail sales reported very choppy results during the first quarter of this year, the market consensus by a relatively large margin. While retail sales in January missed the expectation rising 0.1% m/m compared to the expected increase of 0.5% m/m in January, February figure doubled the expectations rising 0.8% m/m while March figure came in at -1.2% m/m compared to -0.5% monthly fall expected.