U.K. Retail Sales Plunge After Demand Decline

U.K. retail sales fell more than economists forecast in October, led by a decline in demand for food and clothing. Sales including fuel dropped 0.8 percent from September, when they gained a revised 0.5 percent, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 23 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a 0.1 percent decline. Food, which accounts for about 41 percent of retail sales, declined 0.6 percent.