UK retail sales declined more than expected in March, the Office for National Statistics showed Thursday.
Retail sales including auto fuel, dropped 1.2 percent month-on-month in March, in contrast to a 0.8 percent rise in February. Sales were forecast to fall 0.6 percent.
Similarly, excluding auto fuel, retail sales volume dropped 0.5 percent reversing a 0.4 percent rise in February. Economists had expected a 0.4 percent decrease.
On a yearly basis, overall retail sales volume growth eased to 1.1 percent in March from 1.5 percent a month ago. Economists had forecast sales to grow at a faster pace of 1.9 percent.
Sales, excluding auto fuel, also grew by 1.1 percent after rising 1.2 percent in the previous month. The expected rate of growth was 1.4 percent.
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