Retail sales slump by 1.4% in September

Consumer confidence nears historic lows

Retail sales fell by 1.4% in September as Britons continued to grapple with an environment of soaring inflation, while confidence among consumers neared a 50-year low in October.

This figure follows a fall of 1.7% in August and is higher than the 0.5% dip economists expected. The core retail sales, stripping the auto motor fuel sales, dropped 1.5% month-to-month, according to the Office for National Statistics. On an annualised basis, retail sales plunged 6.9% in September, versus the 5% expected.  Core retail sales tumbled 6.2% in the reported month, against expectations of a 4.1% fall, higher than the previous month's figure of 5.3%.  Sophie Lund-Yates, lead equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said the latest figures were "considerably worse than expected...