UK retail sales nosedive data

RT.com
20 Nov 2023, 16:13 GMT+10

The decline is blamed on consumers cutting back their spending

UK retail sales fell unexpectedly in October, with the volume of goods sold in stores and online slumping 0.3% month-on-month, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reported on Friday.

Economists were expecting an increase of 0.4% for the month of October. Instead, sales plummeted to their lowest level since early 2021, when Covid restrictions were in place. Compared to last year, October sales were 2.7% lower, data shows.

The report also highlighted that the October drop followed a revised 1.1% decline in September that was worse than first estimated.

Both economists and retailers blame the cost-of-living crisis and bad weather for the poor performance.

"Weather effects from the particularly wet second half of the month are said to have played a role in reducing footfall, on the heels of what had been an unusually warm September and early October," Sandra Horsfield, an economist from Investec bank, said in a research note, as quoted by the Guardian. "This may well not only have deterred purchases of autumn/winter clothing ranges but kept consumers out of shops more generally," she argued.

The bleak figures suggest there is a growing risk that the British economy has stagnated, and GDP could yet be revised lower to a negative reading, Horsfield added.

"In any case, we remain of the view that a winter recession looks likely, as higher interest rates gradually feed through and take their toll on household and business finances," said the economist.

For more stories on economy & finance visit RT's business section

(RT.com)

Watch latest videos

News RELEASES

Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Irish Sun.

More Information

7 ℃

Fair in Dublin

International

Section

Israeli ambassador extends thanks to U.S. president after UN vote

Israel has acknowledged and thanked the United States and President Joe Biden for standing firmly by Israel's side at the ...

E-bike's battery catches fire in New York, killing 1, injuring 6

NEW YORK: This week, New York City officials said that one person was killed and six others were injured when ...

United Kingdom passes on crucial vote to end war in Gaza

NEW YORK, New York - The United Kingdom refrained from supporting demands for a ceasefire in the two-months long Israel-Gaza ...

United States strikes down international demand for ceasefire

NEW YORK, New York - The U.S. was alone on Friday in a 13-1 vote for a ceasefire in the ...

Ex-US ambassador to Bolivia arrested for working for Cuba

WASHINGTON D.C.: The Associated Press (AP) reported that Manuel Rocha, a former American diplomat who served as U.S. ambassador to ...

Wisconsin man who firebombed anti-abortion group office pleads guilty

MADISON, Wisconsin: On November 30, Hridindu Sankar Roychowdhury from Wisconsin pleaded guilty to firebombing a conservative anti-abortion group's office on ...

Europe

Section