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 and Sainsbury s, fast-food chain ⁠Greggs and home improvement ⁠retailer Kingfisher 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 announ