United Kingdom: Retail sales tumble in April
Retail sales declined 2.3% in month-on-month seasonally adjusted terms in April, which was a deterioration from March’s 0.1% decrease and far worse than market forecasts of a 0.4% fall. Sales fell across a range of subsectors, including clothing, household goods and fuel. Poor weather was likely partly to blame for the decline in sales, and the timing of Easter—which fell in March this year, as opposed to April normally—could have further distorted the data.
On an annual basis, retail sales fell 2.7% in April (March: +0.4% yoy).