Economics

U.K. Retail Sales Freeze Up Before Christmas

Sales record their first year-on-year decline since 2013
Faster inflation has squeezed U.K. households this year

A shopper carries an umbrella past a festive window display on Oxford Street in central London, U.K., on Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017. U.K. retail sales fell the most in seven months in October, indicating continued caution among consumers just weeks before the crucial Christmas shopping season.Photographer: Luke MacGregor/Bloomberg

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By Fergal O'Brien

November 16, 2017 at 4:30 AM EST

Updated on

November 16, 2017 at 5:03 AM EST

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U.K. retail sales barely rose in October as food stores saw declines for a second month and clothing dropped the most this year.

Once fuel is stripped out, overall sales increased just 0.1 percent from September, when they plunged 0.6 percent, the Office for National Statistics said on Thursday. From a year earlier, they fell 0.3 percent, the first decline in more than four years.

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