FTSE retreats as oils fall, data weighs

* FTSE 100 falls 1.1 percent

* Investors profit take after sharp gains on Monday

* Miners, oils down on soft commodity prices

By Simon Falush

LONDON, Dec 9 (Reuters) - Britain's leading share index fell 1.1 percent early on Tuesday erasing some of the previous session's gains, as retail sales and housing data put a spotlight on problems dogging the UK economy.

By 0844 GMT, the FTSE 100 .FTSE was down 48.86 points at 4,253.20 after gaining 6.2 percent on Monday.

"We've had some profit taking, the volumes yesterday were pretty thin, so I'm not sure there was that much conviction in the rally," said Rob Griffiths, strategist at Cazenove.

British house sales fell to a record low and prices fell sharply, though at a slightly lower pace, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said. [ID:nLAG003139]

Banks, many of which are heavily exposed to the UK property market, retreated from sharp gains the previous session.

HBOS (HBOS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Barclays (BARC.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Standard Chartered fell between 1.4 and 4 percent, but Lloyds (LLOY.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) gained 0.3 percent.

Meanwhile, the climate for Britain's embattled retailers continues to worsen.

Retail sales were falling at their sharpest pace in more than three years in November, the British Retail Consortium said [ID:nLAG003138], while profits are set to plunge at high street stores by 3.6 billion pounds ($5.3 billion) according to researchers Verdict. [ID:nL8299595]

However, analysts said that given the grim economic backdrop, investors are not too alarmed by this type of data.

"There's a lot of bad news priced in, and the market is taking theses numbers in its stride, it will take a substantial disappointment to dent stocks," Griffiths said.

Marks & Spencer (MKS.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 1.2 percent, Kingfisher (KGF.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slid 2.2 percent and Next (NXT.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 0.2 percent.

Miners retreated from sharp gains the previous session as metal prices fell, with copper falling 3.5 percent .

Kazakhmys (KAZ.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) slid 2.6 percent while Rio Tinto (RIO.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) eased 4.1 percent and Anglo American (AAL.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) lost 2 percent.

Energy companies also fell with the price of crude mired near $44 per barrel, more than $100 off its high set in July CLc1.

BP (BP.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), Cairn Energy (CNE.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and BG Group (BG.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell between 0.6 and 2.7 percent.

Heavyweight mobile telephone operator Vodafone (VOD.L: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) fell 2.2 percent. It said it would make a public offer for navigational and locating services firm Wayfinder Systems, valuing the Swedish company at $30 million.

Investors will look to UK manufacturing and trade data for October released at 0930 GMT for further guidance on the state of the UK economy and how sharp and deep the recession is likely to be. (Editing by Hans Peters)