U.K. September CBI retail sales survey index surprisingly improved to -27 from -46 in August and compared to a market median for -44. Meanwhile, the October expectations balance improved to -30 from -42. The sharp improvement to the index follows better than expected ONS August retail sales figures last week, and increases the uncertainty about the actual state of the retail sector. However, it should be noted that the CBI survey is highly volatile and that both the September realized balance and the October expectations balance remain depressed. Meanwhile, recent financial market turmoil is likely to cause households to hold tighter their purse strings. Meanwhile, the pound-dollar (GBPUSD) continues to hold below 1.86 amid the large improvement.
