UK retail sales unexpectedly stall in March

Retail sales in the United Kingdom surprisingly registered zero growth in March over February after a 0.1% increase in the prior month, data by the Office for National Statistics showed.

In comparison, market consensus had pointed to a 0.3% growth.

In March, sales of automotive fuel went up 3.2%, while those at non-food stores rose 0.5%.

Conversely, sales at food stores dropped 0.7%, while those at non-store retailers plummeted 1.5%.

In the three months to March, retail sales volumes rose 1.9% compared to the prior three-month period.

Meanwhile, retail sales, which exclude fuel sales, went down 0.3% month-over-month in March, following a 0.3% growth in February.

In annual terms, UK retail sales went up 0.8% in March, while rebounding from a 0.3% drop in February.

The British Pound was little changed on the day against the US Dollar, with the GBP/USD currency pair last trading at 1.2431.

The major Forex pair was hovering above a fresh 22-week low of 1.2388, which it registered during the Asian session.