U.K. CBI realized sales soar in December

Investing.com - U.K. retail sale volumes soared to a three-month high in December, fuelling optimism over the U.K.'s economic outlook, industry data showed on Wednesday.In a report, the Confederation of British Industry said the result of its index of U.K. retailers improved to 34.0 this month from a reading of 1.0 in November. Analysts had expected the index to rise to 10.0 in December. On the index, a reading above 0.0 indicates higher sales volume, below indicates lower. Barry Williams, Chair of the CBI Distributive Trades Survey Panel said, 'After a disappointing couple of months, sales volumes in December recovered their sparkle, beating retailers' expectations.'He added that, 'Retailers are now gearing up for the crucial pre-Christmas week and are optimistic for the New Year.'Following the release of that data, the pound remained higher against the U.S. dollar, with GBP/USD advancing 0.59% to trade at 1.6359.Meanwhile, European stock markets held on to gains. London's FTSE 100 inched up 0.25%, the EURO STOXX 50 rose 0.7%, France's CAC 40 added 0.6%, while Germany's DAX rallied 0.9%.