Economics
U.K. August Retail Sales Unexpectedly Gain in Summer Heatwave
- Economists expected a decline after strong July advance
- Household goods such as furniture led pickup, food sales fell
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U.K. retail sales unexpectedly increased last month as the warmest summer on record encouraged shoppers to splash out.
Sales rose 0.3 percent from July, compared with a median estimate of a 0.2 percent decline in a Bloomberg survey. Figures for the previous month were also revised up, according to data from the Office for National Statistics in London.