UK Retail Sales Rises in May

UK retail sales volumes rose 1.4 percent in May from April, slightly ahead of the initially forecasted monthly rise of 1.2 percent. On a year-on-year basis, sales volumes were up 2.4 percent in May.

According to the Office for National Statistics, sales of clothes and shoes had driven the volumes up in May.

Sales dropped 2.3 percent in April, due to the wet weather and panic-buying of petrol in March resulted from worries about truck drivers’ strike.

Retailers’ recent performance is a positive indicator of the strengthening domestic consumer demand. In the UK consumer spending contributes to about 60 percent of the country’s gross domestic product.

The Bank of England (BoE) hopes that falling inflation will reduce the pressure on household incomes, allowing them to spend more and boost the economy.

Reuters

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.

Dean Popplewell

Dean Popplewell

Vice-President of Market Analysis at MarketPulse
Dean Popplewell has nearly two decades of experience trading currencies and fixed income instruments. He has a deep understanding of market fundamentals and the impact of global events on capital markets. He is respected among professional traders for his skilled analysis and career history as global head of trading for firms such as Scotia Capital and BMO Nesbitt Burns. Since joining OANDA in 2006, Dean has played an instrumental role in driving awareness of the forex market as an emerging asset class for retail investors, as well as providing expert counsel to a number of internal teams on how to best serve clients and industry stakeholders.
Dean Popplewell