Retail sales in Britain contracted and recorded a negative reading

The data of the National Statistics Office issued in Britain today, Friday, showed that the retail sales index recorded a negative reading, as Britain witnessed a contraction in retail sales by 0.4% last November, which is worse than the market’s expectations of an index growth of about 0.3%, after the British retail sales index had recorded Growing by 0.6% at the end of last October, the reading was revised up to 0.9%.

It is noteworthy that the retail sales index measures the change in the total value of inflation-adjusted sales at the retail level. This index is a measure of the value of goods sold by retailers based on a sample of retail stores of various types and sizes.

UK retail sales data includes all sales made through the Internet. The rise in the above-expected reading is positive for the movements of the sterling pound – which is already enjoying a strong recovery period, but if the reading is less than expected, it negatively affects the movements of the pound.