UK retail sales fall by more than expected in September

LONDON, Oct 23 (Reuters) - British retail sales fell by a larger-than-expected 0.4% in September as a warm start to the autumn weighed on online clothing vendors and supermarkets also saw a drop in volumes, official figures showed on Friday.

Most economists polled by Reuters had forecast a drop of 0.1% drop in sales volumes compared with August.

British shoppers have surprised analysts with the strength of their spending in recent months, even as the conflict in the Gulf pushes up fuel and domestic energy prices.

Britain's two biggest food retailers Tesco TSCO.L and Sainsbury's SBRY.L, fast-food chain Greggs GRG.L and home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L all upgraded their annual profit guidance.

Over the three months to September, total sales volumes were up by 0.7%, according to the Office for National Statistics which revised up monthly figures for August and July.

However, major retailers have recently highlighted the challenging conditions for consumers ahead of next week's budget announcement by finance minister John Healey and signs of more inflation pressure in 2027.

A survey published earlier on Friday showed consumer confidence in October suffered its sharpest month-on-month fall since early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

The ONS said fuel sales volumes in September rose by 2.2% from August.