UK retail sales stagnate despite easing inflation
Adds economist quote in paragraph 6-7, details and background throughout
By Suban Abdulla
LONDON, April 19 (Reuters) - Britishretail sales stagnated in March despite high inflation easing recently, representing the first time that theyhave not grown in monthly terms since December, the Office for National Statistics said on Friday.
Economists polled by Reuters had mostly forecast sales volumes would increase by 0.3% on the month.
But the ONS said sales volumes showed no growth after rising by an upwardly revised 0.1% in February.
Rises in automotive fuel sales - which were the highest since May 2022 - and non-food store sales were offset by falls in food stores and online and other non-store retailers, the ONS said.
Sales volumes excluding fuel sales were down 0.3% on the month.
"What is clear is that the first quarter of the year has been disappointing for many retailers," said Lisa Hooker, leader of industry for consumer markets at PwC. "Lower inflation and the first 2% cut to National Insurance, which was felt in January’s pay packets, has yet to translate into a sustained recovery in spending."
Finance minister Jeremy Hunt - hoping to boost the chances of the ruling Conservative Party in an election expected this year - introduced a second social security tax cut in April after the initial January cut.
There have been some encouraging signs recently from leading UK retailers.
Tesco TSCO.L, the country's biggest supermarket group, and clothing group Next NXT.L both highlighted an improving consumer outlook and forecast profit growth for 2024. Home improvement retailer Kingfisher KGF.L warned on profit but said its UK operations were performing better than in France.
Sterling fell briefly against the U.S. dollar and the euro immediately after the retail figures werepublished.
British consumer price inflation was its slowest in two and a half years in March although it fell by less than expected as motor fuel prices rose, tempering market expectations about the scale of Bank of England interest rate cuts this year.
Friday's figures contrasted with some business surveys that showed a pick-up in retail sales in March.
Compared with a year ago, the ONS data showed sales volumes were 0.8% higher. They rose by 1.9% from the previous three months, the biggest such increase since mid-2021, boosted by a leap in sales in January.
Reporting by Suban Abdulla; additional reporting by James Davey; editing by William Schomberg and Gerry Doyle
Activos relacionados
Últimas noticias
Descargo de responsabilidades: Cada una de las entidades de XM Group proporciona un servicio de solo ejecución y acceso a nuestra plataforma de trading online, permitiendo a una persona ver o usar el contenido disponible en o a través del sitio web, sin intención de cambiarlo ni ampliarlo. Dicho acceso y uso están sujetos en todo momento a: (i) Términos y Condiciones; (ii) Advertencias de riesgo; y (iii) Descargo completo de responsabilidades. Por lo tanto, dicho contenido se proporciona exclusivamente como información general. En particular, por favor tenga en cuenta que, los contenidos de nuestra plataforma de trading online no son ni solicitud ni una oferta para entrar a realizar transacciones en los mercados financieros. Operar en cualquier mercado financiero implica un nivel de riesgo significativo para su capital.
Todo el material publicado en nuestra plataforma de trading online tiene únicamente fines educativos/informativos y no contiene –y no debe considerarse que contenga– asesoramiento ni recomendaciones financieras, tributarias o de inversión, ni un registro de nuestros precios de trading, ni una oferta ni solicitud de transacción con instrumentos financieros ni promociones financieras no solicitadas.
Cualquier contenido de terceros, así como el contenido preparado por XM, como por ejemplo opiniones, noticias, investigaciones, análisis, precios, otras informaciones o enlaces a sitios de terceros que figuran en este sitio web se proporcionan “tal cual”, como comentarios generales del mercado y no constituyen un asesoramiento en materia de inversión. En la medida en que cualquier contenido se interprete como investigación de inversión, usted debe tener en cuenta y aceptar que dicho contenido no fue concebido ni elaborado de acuerdo con los requisitos legales diseñados para promover la independencia en materia de investigación de inversiones y, por tanto, se considera como una comunicación comercial en virtud de las leyes y regulaciones pertinentes. Por favor, asegúrese de haber leído y comprendido nuestro Aviso sobre investigación de inversión no independiente y advertencia de riesgo en relación con la información anterior, al que se puede acceder aquí.
