According to the Office for National Statistics, UK retail sales rose 0.4 percent in August compared to July, while the figure was 3.9 percent above that achieved in August 2013. It marked the 17th month of y-o-y growth, while there have now been 18 months of consecutive rolling 3-months on 3-months growth. Sales in household goods stores jumped 12.7 percent this August (compared to last) marking the largest such jump since October 2001. At the same time, retailers were forced to make concessions to consumers to keep the growth going, as store prices fell 1.2 percent this August from a year ago. This was led by prices at the pump, as fuel costs declined 5 percent.
