UK retail sales grew in October, recovering from the previous month’s decline stemming from the closure of many businesses due to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II, data from the Office for National Statistics showed on Friday.
Sales volume was up 0.6%, up from a downward revised reading of -1.5% in September. Analysts expect the figure to recover to 0.3%. During the year, sales were lower by -6.1%.
European stock markets are expected to open higher on Friday, helped by UK consumer confidence ticking higher after the country’s Autumn Statement, but gains are likely to be tentative as the outlook for the regional economy remains bleak.
By 2:00 AM ET, the DAX futures in Germany were trading 0.5% higher, the CAC 40 futures in France were up 0.6% and the UK’s FTSE 100 futures were up 0.2%.
There is some good news for investors to hold onto Friday, with GfK consumer confidence for the UK rising to -44 in November, market research firm GfK said early Friday. This represents an increase from -47 in October, and is much better than the expected -52, even as it approaches a record low.
This comes just hours after UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt confirmed in his Autumn Statement that the country was in recession, while announcing £55 billion (£1=$1.1904) in taxes and spending cuts as Britons face record high living standards. record.
Fed policy makers are continuing to try and rein in the market’s recent enthusiasm about a potential early pivot towards lower interest rates amid signs of slower inflation, with St. Fed President. Louis James Bullard and Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank President Neel Kashkari talk about more hikes ahead.
The European banking sector will be looking to the European Central Bank as it will announce late Friday how many banks plan to repay the €2.1T (€1=$1.0366) loans they have taken out under a targeted long-term refinancing operation.
